English Explanatory Dictionary

uptake

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Understanding; comprehension.
  2. Absorption, especially of food or nutrient by an organism.
  3. The act of lifting or taking up.
  4. A chimney.
  5. The upcast pipe from the smokebox of a steam boiler towards the chimney.
verb
  1. To take up, to lift.
  2. To absorb, as food or a drug by an organism.
  3. To accept and begin to use, as a new practice.

Pronunciation

/ˈʌpteɪk/ en-us-uptake.ogg /ʌpˈteɪk/

Word forms

uptake uptakes uptaking uptook uptaken

Etymology

From Middle English uptaken (“to take up, lift”), partial calque of earlier Middle English upnimen (“to take up, lift”), equivalent to up- + take. Compare Swedish upptaga, uppta (“to take up”).

Derived words

on the uptake quick on the uptake slow on the uptake reuptake
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