take it on the lam

verb

"take-it-on-the-lam" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To escape.

Corpus desk

Index EN-take-it-on-the-lam · take it on the lam · English

take it on the lam · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 18 letters
  • VOW-6 6 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 it on the lam
PropertyValue
Headwordtake it on the lam
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “take it on the lam” in English

take it on the lamsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

take it on the lam is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To escape.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for take it on the lam, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From on the lam. The correct English form is take it on the lam, spelled T-A-K-E- -I-T- -O-N- -T-H-E- -L-A-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    To escape.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. They didn't take it on the lam weirdly inside a cloud the way Clevinger had done.

Etymology

From on the lam.

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 it on the lam"?
"take it on the lam" is spelled T-A-K-E- -I-T- -O-N- -T-H-E- -L-A-M.
What does "take it on the lam" mean?
As a verb, "take it on the lam" means: To escape.
What is the origin of the word "take it on the lam"?
From on the lam. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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