take away

/ˌteɪk əˈweɪ/

//ˌteɪk əˈweɪ// verb

"take-away" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“take away” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To remove something and put it in a different place.

Corpus desk

Index EN-take-away · take away · English

take away · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for take away
PropertyValue
Headwordtake away
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌteɪk əˈweɪ/
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “take away” in English

take awayfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

take away is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌteɪk əˈweɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for take away, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is take away, spelled T-A-K-E- -A-W-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To remove something and put it in a different place.
  2. 2
    To remove something, either material or abstract, so that a person no longer has it.
  3. 3
    To remove something, either material or abstract, so that a person no longer has it.
  4. 4
    To subtract or diminish something.
  5. 5
    To leave a memory or impression in one's mind that you think about later.
  6. 6
    To make someone leave a place and go somewhere else. Usually not with the person's consent.
  7. 7
    To prevent, or limit, someone from being somewhere, or from doing something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how take away appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Mother took our plates away and came back with some fruit for us to eat.
  2. The teacher took my mobile phone away until the end of the lesson.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "take away"?
"take away" is spelled T-A-K-E- -A-W-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌteɪk əˈweɪ/.
What does "take away" mean?
As a verb, "take away" means: To remove something and put it in a different place.
How do you pronounce "take away"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "take away" is /ˌteɪk əˈweɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "take away" come from?
"take away" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list