took

took — verb

1. the form of the verb 'take' that you use when you are talking about something th

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA1
Definition

the form of the verb 'take' that you use when you are talking about something that happened in the past, rather than something that is happening now or will happen later — for example, taking something in your hand, taking someone somewhere, taking a form of transport, or taking an amount of time.

Example

Hiro took a deep breath before he opened the door and walked inside.

took + noun phrase (deep breath)

Nellie took the train to work every morning when she lived in London.

took + means of transport (train)

Grammar Patterns

took + noun phrase (direct object)

took + time expression (duration)

took + noun phrase + prepositional phrase

Usage Note

The verb 'take' is irregular: present 'take', past simple 'took', past participle 'taken'. 'Took' is only used for completed past actions — do not use it with 'have' (❌ 'I have took it'). Use the past participle 'taken' with auxiliary verbs instead.

Common Mistakes

Yesterday I have took the bus.
Yesterday I took the bus.
'took' is the simple past form and does not need an auxiliary verb like 'have'.
I have tooken a photo.
I have taken a photo.
The past participle of 'take' is 'taken', not 'tooken'.

Word family

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • took a break
  • took a seat
  • took part in
  • took place
  • took turns

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'took' comes from Old English 'tōc', which was the past tense form of 'tacan' (to take). It has been used as the simple past of 'take' for over a thousand years, and its spelling has stayed close to the original pronunciation.