intake

intake — noun

1. The action of breathing in, by which air enters your lungs through the mouth or

1.nounB1
Definition

The action of breathing in, by which air enters your lungs through the mouth or nose.

Example

Caleb took a slow, deep intake of breath before stepping onto the stage.

collocation: deep intake of breath

The doctor asked for a quick intake of breath while she listened to my chest.

collocation: intake of breath + medical context

Common collocations
  • deep intake
  • sharp intake
  • sudden intake
  • quick intake
  • breath intake
Synonyms
  • inhalation

    more technical/medical; 'inhalation' focuses on the physical process, while 'intake' is less formal

  • breath

    simpler and more general; 'take a breath' is the everyday alternative to 'take an intake of breath'

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

intake of breath — used for the act of breathing in

Usage Note

This sense almost always appears in the phrase 'intake of breath' or as part of the compound 'breath intake.' It is rarely used without a modifier or a following 'of'-phrase.

Common Mistakes

He took an intake.
He took a deep intake of breath.
'intake' in this sense needs a modifier or a following 'of'-phrase to be natural in English.

2. The quantity of food, drink, or other substance that someone consumes over a giv

2.nounB1
Definition

The quantity of food, drink, or other substance that someone consumes over a given period.

Example

Renata tracks her daily intake of sugar by reading food labels carefully.

daily intake of [substance] — quantifying consumption

The nurse advised Mark to reduce his salt intake to lower his blood pressure.

reduce one's [substance] intake

Common collocations
  • daily intake
  • recommended intake
  • reduce intake
  • increase intake
  • total intake
  • calorie intake
  • salt intake
  • water intake
  • caffeine intake
  • food intake
Synonyms
  • consumption

    broader — can refer to energy, resources, or goods, not just food/drink; 'consumption' is slightly more formal

  • uptake

    more technical, refers to absorption by the body's cells or tissues, not the act of eating/drinking

  • dosage

    only applies to measured amounts of medicine, not general food or drink

Grammar Patterns

[adjective] intake of [substance] — specifying what and how much is consumed

[verb] one's [adjective] intake — reducing or increasing consumption

Usage Note

Frequently used with a preceding modifier (daily, recommended, total) and a following 'of'-phrase specifying the substance. Common verbs: reduce, increase, track, limit, cut down on.

Common Mistakes

My intake of water is two litres each day.
My daily water intake is two litres.
The compound form '[modifier] + [substance] + intake' sounds more natural than the possessive structure.

3. How many people a school, university, or other organization admits during a sing

3.nounB2
Definition

How many people a school, university, or other organization admits during a single enrolment period.

Example

The university plans to increase its student intake by two hundred next year.

increase student intake — admissions planning

This college's annual intake of engineering students has doubled since 2021.

annual intake of [group] — specifying field and timeframe

Common collocations
  • student intake
  • annual intake
  • September intake
  • new intake
  • increase intake
  • intake of students
Synonyms
  • admissions

    refers to the process or the number itself; 'intake' emphasizes the cohort of people admitted in a given period

  • cohort

    more academic; focuses on the group as a unit for study or tracking, not the number

  • enrollment

    more common in American English; focuses on the total number registered

Grammar Patterns

[annual/September] intake — with a time modifier

intake of [students/staff/recruits] — specifying who is admitted

Usage Note

Commonly modified by a time reference (annual, September, new) or a field (student, nursing, engineering). In British English, 'intake' is especially common for university admissions cycles. Not typically used for individual admissions — it always refers to a group or a number.

Common Mistakes

I got an intake from the university.
I was offered a place in the university's September intake.
'intake' refers to the group or the process, not the individual acceptance letter.

4. A component of a machine or engine designed to pull in air, fuel, or another flu

4.nounB2
Definition

A component of a machine or engine designed to pull in air, fuel, or another fluid.

Example

A piece of plastic got stuck in the engine's air intake, causing it to overheat.

air intake — part of an engine

The mechanic checked the intake valve for any cracks or leaks.

intake valve — compound noun for a machine part

Common collocations
  • air intake
  • intake valve
  • intake pipe
  • intake filter
  • intake manifold
  • water intake
  • fuel intake
Synonyms
  • inlet

    more general; 'inlet' can refer to any entry point for fluid, while 'intake' is typical of engines and pumps

  • port

    technical term for an opening in a machine; narrower in application

Antonyms
  • exhaust

    the outlet through which gases leave an engine

Grammar Patterns

[air/water/fuel] intake — specifying the type of fluid or gas

intake [valve/pipe/filter/manifold] — part of a machine or system

Usage Note

Common in technical or mechanical contexts. Often appears as part of a compound noun: air intake, intake valve, intake pipe, intake manifold. Distinguish from sense 1 (breathing), which refers to the act rather than the physical opening.

Common Mistakes

The car's intake was broken.' (too vague)
The car's air intake was blocked by debris.
Without a modifier, readers may not know which sense is intended.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Intake, consumption, ingestion, uptake, and dosage all relate to taking something in, but they differ in scope and domain. Intake (sense 2) is the most general term for the amount of food, drink, or substance consumed over time — it is the everyday word for diet tracking ('daily sugar intake'). Consumption is broader: it covers energy, fuel, and non-edible resources too ('energy consumption', 'fuel consumption'), and sounds more formal. Ingestion is strictly medical or biological, referring only to the act of food or drink entering the body through the mouth, not the quantity. Uptake focuses on absorption at the cellular level ('oxygen uptake', 'nutrient uptake') and is rarely about eating. Dosage is limited to measured amounts of a medicine or drug ('recommended dosage'), never general food. If you are keeping a food diary, use intake. If you are talking about how the body processes nutrients, use uptake. For how much medicine to take, use dosage.

consumption ↗ingestionuptake ↗dosage ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • air intake
  • water intake
  • food intake
  • calorie intake
  • salt intake
  • caffeine intake
  • student intake
  • breath intake

Phrases

  • intake of breath
  • daily intake
  • recommended intake
  • annual intake
  • September intake
  • new intake

Prepositions

  • of — intake of [substance/people] (e.g., intake of sugar, intake of students)

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Intake comes from the verb phrase 'take in', formed by adding the prefix 'in-' to 'take'. It was first used in the 14th century to describe land that was 'taken in' or enclosed from a common area. By the 16th century it had broadened to mean any act of taking something in. The breathing sense (an intake of breath) arose in the 1800s, and the mechanical sense (an intake opening for air or liquid) appeared with the growth of engines and pumps in the early 20th century.