taking away

Verb

take away (third-person singular simple present takes away, present participle taking away, simple past took away, past participle taken away)

1. To remove something and put it in a different place.
   • Mother took our plates away and came back with some fruit for us to eat.
2. To remove something, either material or abstract, so that a person no longer has it.
   • The teacher took my mobile phone away until the end of the lesson.
   1. To remove a person, usually a family member or other close friend or acquaintance, by kidnapping or killing the person.
      • The mother of the murdered man spoke directly to the man who took away her son, then addressed the judge, whom she trusted would impose the maximum sentence.
3. To subtract or diminish something.
   • If I have five apples and you take away two, how many do I have left?
4. To leave a memory or impression in one's mind that you think about later.
   • I took away the impression that the play was under rehearsed.
5. To make someone leave a place and go somewhere else. Usually not with the person's consent.
   • The police took him away for questioning.

See all 8 meanings of take away