Word.ws English Dictionary

taking the initiative

taking the initiative is the present participle and gerund of take the initiative.

Meaning of take the initiative

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) to take action first or on one's own; to make the first move

Questions about taking the initiative

What is taking the initiative the present participle and gerund of?
Taking the initiative is the present participle and gerund of take the initiative.

Words near taking the initiative in the dictionary

  1. taking the game to
  2. taking the gap
  3. taking the gilt off the gingerbread
  4. taking the heat
  5. taking the helm
  6. taking the initiative
  7. taking the knee
  8. taking the l
  9. taking the law into one's hands
  10. taking the law into one's own hands
  11. taking the lead

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking the initiative (page history and authors); take the initiative (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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Cite this entry: “taking the initiative.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/taking_the_initiative. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.