AAAmerican Accent US

take down

Separable

The object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: take DOWN. Saying “TAKE down” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Do not release the /k/. Before the consonant of “down” the stop is held and swallowed rather than popped — the same unreleased-stop move as in hot dog. One smooth unit: “take down”.

2 meanings

  1. 1

    To write information as you hear it.

    • “Take down her number before she leaves.”

    Similar: note, record

  2. 2

    To dismantle or remove something that was put up.

    • “We took the decorations down on the sixth.”

    Similar: dismantle, remove

The particle logic

down

Something decreases, collapses, settles, or gets recorded.

Listen + practice

Hear “take down” spoken naturally

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More TAKE phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

take off

(Of an aircraft) to leave the ground.

take up

To start a new hobby or activity.

take over

To assume control of something.

take in

To provide shelter for a person or animal.

take after

To resemble an older relative in looks or character.

take on

To accept a new responsibility or task.

take out

To remove something from inside a place or container.

take back

To retract something you said.

take apart

To separate something into its parts.

take away

To remove something entirely.

take to

To begin to like someone or something.

take down — meaning, examples & how to say it