Word.ws English Dictionary

taking someone up short

taking someone up short is the present participle and gerund of take someone up short.

Meaning of take someone up short

Verb

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

  1. (dated) To check someone or give them a curt answer.

Questions about taking someone up short

What is taking someone up short the present participle and gerund of?
Taking someone up short is the present participle and gerund of take someone up short.

Words near taking someone up short in the dictionary

  1. taking some doing
  2. taking someone at their word
  3. taking someone down the garden path
  4. taking someone for all they've got
  5. taking someone to the grave
  6. taking someone up short
  7. taking someone's arm
  8. taking someone's breath away
  9. taking someone's fancy
  10. taking someone's head off
  11. taking someone's life

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking someone up short (page history and authors); take someone up short (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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