n.

1. The act of taking or tightening up.
2. A device for reducing slack or taking up lost motion, as one in a loom.

1.  Raise, lift, as in We have to take up the old carpet and sand the floor. [c. 1300]
2.  Reduce in size, shorten, tighten, as in I have to take up the hem of this coat, or You have to take up the slack in that reel or you'll never land a fish. [c. 1800]
3.  Station oneself, settle in, as in We took up our positions at the front. [Mid-1500s]
4.  Accept an option, bet, or challenge, as in No one wanted to take up that bet. This usage is often expanded to take someone up on, as in You're offering to clean the barn? I'll take you up on that. Take up dates from about 1700, the variant from the early 1900s.
5.  Develop an interest in, begin an activity, as in Jim took up gardening. [Mid-1400s] Also see go into, def. 3.
6.  Use up or occupy entirely, as in The extra duties took up most of my time, or This desk takes up too much space in the office, or How much room will your car take up? [c. 1600]
7.  Begin again, resume, as in I'll take up the story where you left off. [Mid-1600s]
8.  Deal with, as in Let's take up these questions one at a time. [c. 1500]
9.  Absorb, as in These large trees are taking up all the water in the soil. [Late 1600s]
10.  Support, adopt as a protegé, as in She's always taking up one or another young singer. [Late 1300s] Also see the subsequent entries beginning with take up.

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v

Definition: begin or start again
Antonyms: complete, conclude, end, finish

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Any device or mechanism for taking up slack.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - stramning, tomspole

Nederlands (Dutch)
benutting, plooi

Français (French)
n. - demande, nombre de demandeurs

Deutsch (German)
n. - Aufnahme, Interesse, Nachstellung, Spanneinrichtung, Aufwickeln

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - απορρόφηση, είσπραξη κοινωνικού επιδόματος

Italiano (Italian)
sottoscrizione, avvolgitore

Português (Portuguese)
n. - dispositivo (m) de enrolar, entesar, compensar desgaste (Mec.), correção (f) (de folga ou jogo) (Mec.), enrolamento (m) de filme (Cin.)

Русский (Russian)
спрос

Español (Spanish)
n. - toma, absorción, encogimiento, contracción, compensación

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - spänningsanordning (tekn.), utnyttjande, köp

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
拿起, 举起, 抬起, 拉紧

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 拿起, 舉起, 抬起, 拉緊

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 수축, 들어 올리기

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 一回に組む原稿, 一回分の撮影, 緊張装置

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مصادرة, رفع, شراء‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קיצור, הידוק, היענות‬

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