Taking

How to spell taking

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce taking

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does taking mean?

1. verbThe present participle of 'take': in the act of grasping, receiving, removing, or carrying something.
2. adjectiveCharming, attractive, or capable of winning attention and affection.

Taking in a sentence

• verb

  She is taking the early train to avoid the traffic.

• adjective

  The child had such a taking smile that strangers stopped to wave.

• verb

  He kept taking notes throughout the long meeting.

• adjective

  Her warm and taking manner put every nervous interviewee at ease.

Where does taking come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

This is the present participle of the verb 'take', which English borrowed from the Old Norse 'taka', meaning 'to grasp, seize, or lay hold of'. Norse settlers brought the word to England during the Viking age, and by the late Old English period it had largely replaced the native verb 'niman' for the everyday idea of seizing or receiving. The literal sense of laying hold of something broadened over the centuries into hundreds of figurative uses, from taking a decision to taking the bus. When the -ing ending is added, the silent final 'e' of 'take' is dropped, which is the small spelling trap here: it is 'taking', not 'takeing'. The same drop-the-e rule explains relatives such as 'making', 'baking', and 'shaking'.

How the word is built

• take (verb)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix, with the silent 'e' of 'take' dropped before -ing)