Word.ws English Dictionary

take up the cudgel for

take up the cudgel for verb: to make a defense for someone or something, on behalf of another person.

Verb

take up the cudgel for (third-person singular simple present takes up the cudgel for, present participle taking up the cudgel for, simple past took up the cudgel for, past participle taken up the cudgel for)

  1. (idiomatic) To make a defense for someone or something, on behalf of another person.

Forms of take up the cudgel for

third-person singular presenttakes up the cudgel for
present participletaking up the cudgel for
pasttook up the cudgel for
past participletaken up the cudgel for
alternative formtake up the cudgels for

Questions about take up the cudgel for

What does take up the cudgel for mean?
Take up the cudgel for means to make a defense for someone or something, on behalf of another person.
What part of speech is take up the cudgel for?
Take up the cudgel for is a verb.
What is the past tense of take up the cudgel for?
The past tense of take up the cudgel for is took up the cudgel for.

Words near take up the cudgel for in the dictionary

  1. take up a collection
  2. take up arms
  3. take up cudgels
  4. take up for
  5. take up residence
  6. take up the cudgel for
  7. take up the cudgels
  8. take up the gantlet
  9. take up the gauntlet
  10. take up the glove
  11. take up the hatchet

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: take up the cudgel for (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-take up the cudgel for.wav.

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