Word.ws English Dictionary

taking the ball and running with it

taking the ball and running with it is the present participle and gerund of take the ball and run with it.

Meaning of take the ball and run with it

Verb

take the ball and run with it (third-person singular simple present takes the ball and runs with it, present participle taking the ball and running with it, simple past took the ball and ran with it, past participle taken the ball and run with it)

  1. To continue working on something that someone else started, especially when one does so efficiently and successfully.

Questions about taking the ball and running with it

What is taking the ball and running with it the present participle and gerund of?
Taking the ball and running with it is the present participle and gerund of take the ball and run with it.

Words near taking the ball and running with it in the dictionary

  1. taking something to
  2. taking something to one's grave
  3. taking stock
  4. taking ten
  5. taking the bait
  6. taking the ball and running with it
  7. taking the bench
  8. taking the biscuit
  9. taking the bitter with the sweet
  10. taking the bread out of someone's mouth
  11. taking the Browns to the Super Bowl

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking the ball and running with it (page history and authors); take the ball and run with it (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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