"take someone at their word" meaning in English

See take someone at their word in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Forms: takes someone at their word [present, singular, third-person], taking someone at their word [participle, present], took someone at their word [past], taken someone at their word [participle, past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|take<,,took,taken> someone at their word}} take someone at their word (third-person singular simple present takes someone at their word, present participle taking someone at their word, simple past took someone at their word, past participle taken someone at their word)
  1. (transitive) To take someone literally even though they may not have been serious; to take someone seriously even though they were joking; to take up a challenge that was initially meant as a joke. Tags: transitive Translations (take someone literally even though they may not have been serious): tage nogen på ordet (Danish), ottaa todesta (Finnish), ottaa kirjaimellisesti (Finnish), prendre au mot (French), prendre au pied de la lettre (French), prendre au sérieux (French), traktować poważnie [imperfective] (Polish), potraktować poważnie [perfective] (Polish)
    Sense id: en-take_someone_at_their_word-en-verb-4ftL~Ih~ Disambiguation of 'take someone literally even though they may not have been serious': 97 3
  2. (transitive) To take someone's word for it, to believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true. Tags: transitive Translations (believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true): luottaa sanaan [possessive, suffix, with-genitive] (Finnish), croire sur parole (French), wierzyć na słowo [neuter] (Polish), uwierzyć na słowo [perfective] (Polish)
    Sense id: en-take_someone_at_their_word-en-verb-tuL4RDDu Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Polish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 34 66 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 31 69 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 21 79 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 24 76 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 32 68 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 40 60 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 36 64 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 41 59 Disambiguation of 'believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true': 6 94
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: on the face of it, take at face value

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes someone at their word",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking someone at their word",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took someone at their word",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken someone at their word",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> someone at their word"
      },
      "expansion": "take someone at their word (third-person singular simple present takes someone at their word, present participle taking someone at their word, simple past took someone at their word, past participle taken someone at their word)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "46 54",
      "word": "on the face of it"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 54",
      "word": "take at face value"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "To take someone literally even though they may not have been serious; to take someone seriously even though they were joking; to take up a challenge that was initially meant as a joke."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_someone_at_their_word-en-verb-4ftL~Ih~",
      "links": [
        [
          "literally",
          "literally"
        ],
        [
          "take someone seriously",
          "take seriously"
        ],
        [
          "challenge",
          "challenge"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To take someone literally even though they may not have been serious; to take someone seriously even though they were joking; to take up a challenge that was initially meant as a joke."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
          "word": "tage nogen på ordet"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
          "word": "ottaa todesta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
          "word": "ottaa kirjaimellisesti"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
          "word": "prendre au mot"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
          "word": "prendre au pied de la lettre"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
          "word": "prendre au sérieux"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "traktować poważnie"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "potraktować poważnie"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "34 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 79",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
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        {
          "_dis": "24 76",
          "kind": "other",
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        {
          "_dis": "32 68",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 60",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "36 64",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "41 59",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023, Phil Illy, “Autosexuality Beyond Gender”, in Autoheterosexual: Attracted to Being the Other Sex, Houndstooth Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 447:",
          "text": "There’s no way to objectively know if a particular alterhuman individual is actually an otherkin, otherkith, or otherlink. As with matters of gender identity, they have to be taken at their word—sometimes quite literally: it might be a word you've never heard before.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To take someone's word for it, to believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_someone_at_their_word-en-verb-tuL4RDDu",
      "links": [
        [
          "take someone's word for it",
          "take someone's word for it"
        ],
        [
          "believe",
          "believe"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To take someone's word for it, to believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "6 94",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true",
          "tags": [
            "possessive",
            "suffix",
            "with-genitive"
          ],
          "word": "luottaa sanaan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 94",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "note": "uskoa sanaan (+ genitive and/or possessive suffix)",
          "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 94",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true",
          "word": "croire sur parole"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 94",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "wierzyć na słowo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 94",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "uwierzyć na słowo"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "take someone at their word"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes someone at their word",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking someone at their word",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took someone at their word",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken someone at their word",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> someone at their word"
      },
      "expansion": "take someone at their word (third-person singular simple present takes someone at their word, present participle taking someone at their word, simple past took someone at their word, past participle taken someone at their word)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "on the face of it"
    },
    {
      "word": "take at face value"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To take someone literally even though they may not have been serious; to take someone seriously even though they were joking; to take up a challenge that was initially meant as a joke."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "literally",
          "literally"
        ],
        [
          "take someone seriously",
          "take seriously"
        ],
        [
          "challenge",
          "challenge"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To take someone literally even though they may not have been serious; to take someone seriously even though they were joking; to take up a challenge that was initially meant as a joke."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023, Phil Illy, “Autosexuality Beyond Gender”, in Autoheterosexual: Attracted to Being the Other Sex, Houndstooth Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 447:",
          "text": "There’s no way to objectively know if a particular alterhuman individual is actually an otherkin, otherkith, or otherlink. As with matters of gender identity, they have to be taken at their word—sometimes quite literally: it might be a word you've never heard before.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To take someone's word for it, to believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "take someone's word for it",
          "take someone's word for it"
        ],
        [
          "believe",
          "believe"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To take someone's word for it, to believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
      "word": "tage nogen på ordet"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
      "word": "ottaa todesta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
      "word": "ottaa kirjaimellisesti"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
      "word": "prendre au mot"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
      "word": "prendre au pied de la lettre"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
      "word": "prendre au sérieux"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "traktować poważnie"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "take someone literally even though they may not have been serious",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "potraktować poważnie"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true",
      "tags": [
        "possessive",
        "suffix",
        "with-genitive"
      ],
      "word": "luottaa sanaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "note": "uskoa sanaan (+ genitive and/or possessive suffix)",
      "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true",
      "word": "croire sur parole"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "wierzyć na słowo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "uwierzyć na słowo"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take someone at their word"
}

Download raw JSONL data for take someone at their word meaning in English (4.7kB)

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-11-21 using wiktextract (94ba7e1 and 5dea2a6). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.