# uptake

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈʌpteɪk/ · frequency rank #20,258

## Definitions
1. Understanding; comprehension.
2. Absorption, especially of food or nutrient by an organism.
3. The act of lifting or taking up.
4. A chimney.
5. The upcast pipe from the smokebox of a steam boiler towards the chimney.

## Etymology
From Middle English uptaken (“to take up, lift”), partial calque of earlier Middle English upnimen (“to take up, lift”), equivalent to up- + take. Compare Swedish upptaga, uppta (“to take up”).

## Easily confused with
- **uptime** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/uptake-vs-uptime)
- **update** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/update-vs-uptake)
- **upstate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/upstate-vs-uptake)

## Common misspellings (8)
`putake`, `upatke`, `upptake`, `uptaek`, `uptakke`, `uptkae`, `upttake`, `utpake`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/uptake