taking over

Verb

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

1. To assume control of something, such as a business or enterprise, and sometimes by force.
   • Pilton Yard, the Lynton & Barnstaple headquarters, has been taken over by a fur trading firm, and would-be trespassers to the old engine-shed are turned back by the pungent odour of heaps of carcases.1951 February, “Notes and News: Lynton & Barnstaple Remains”, in Railway Magazine, page 136

   Synonyms:

   commandeer

2. To adopt a further responsibility or duty.
   • He will take over the job permanently when the accountant retires.
3. To relieve someone temporarily.
   • My husband is taking over the accounts department during the holiday period, while the chief accountant is away.
4. To buy out the ownership of a business.
   • Acme Motors is to take Jetcar Industries over this week, if all goes as planned.
5. To appropriate something without permission.
6. To annex a territory by conquest or invasion; to conquer.
   • Ancient Rome took over lands throughout the known world.

See all 8 meanings of take over