How to pronounce take
Say it like TAYK. Take is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce take. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- TAYK
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Take pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- TAYKSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ay" in day.
American vs British pronunciation of take
American and British speakers say take in essentially the same way: /teɪk/ in the US and /teɪk/ in the UK.
British respelling: TAYK.
What does take mean?
- carry out“take action”“take steps”
- require (time or space)“It took three hours to get to work this morning”“This event occupied a very short time”
- take somebody somewhere“We lead him to our chief”“can you take me to the main entrance?”
- the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property“the average return was about 5%”
- the act of photographing a scene or part of a scene without interruption
Where does take come from?
Cognate with Scots tak (“to take”), Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk taka (“to take”), Norwegian Bokmål ta (“to take”), Swedish ta (“to take”), Danish tage (“to take, seize”), West Frisian take, taakje (“to grab, steal”), Dutch taken (“to ta
Similar and opposite words
Opposite meaning
Words that rhyme with take
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of take.
Questions about saying take
How do you pronounce take?
Say TAYK. The American pronunciation is /teɪk/. In British English it is /teɪk/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in take?
Take is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: TAYK.
Do Americans and Brits say take the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /teɪk/ and the British form is /teɪk/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.