"take the cake" meaning in English

See take the cake in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-take the cake.wav Forms: takes the cake [present, singular, third-person], taking the cake [participle, present], took the cake [past], taken the cake [participle, past]
Etymology: Attested since circa 1870. Originally used in reference to the winners of cake walk competitions in black communities of the southern USA in the 19th and early 20th centuries, who were said to have "taken the cake", which was oftentimes the prize. Etymology templates: {{circa2|1870}} circa 1870 Head templates: {{en-verb|take<,,took,taken> the cake}} take the cake (third-person singular simple present takes the cake, present participle taking the cake, simple past took the cake, past participle taken the cake)
  1. (idiomatic, colloquial, chiefly US) Used as an affirmation or accolade when one is deemed the top position in a comparison or contest; to win or be the best (at). Tags: US, colloquial, idiomatic Synonyms (to be good or outstanding): steal the show Synonyms (to be particularly bad or egregious): take the biscuit [British] Translations (to be especially bad): de kroon spannen (Dutch), olla pohjanoteeraus (Finnish), viedä voitto (Finnish), den Vogel abschießen (German), nicht mehr zu toppen sein (German), odstawać [imperfective] (Polish), odstać [perfective] (Polish), ta priset (Swedish) Translations (to be especially good): de kroon spannen (Dutch), viedä voitto (Finnish), den Vogel abschießen (German), elviszi a pálmát (Hungarian), taka öllu fram (Icelandic), hljóta fyrstu verðlaun (Icelandic), odstawać [imperfective] (Polish), odstać [perfective] (Polish), llevarse la palma (Spanish), ta priset (Swedish)

Inflected forms

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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Thanks! You guys take the cake.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Once the party was over, everyone agreed that Elizabeth and her Harriet Tubman getup had taken the cake.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "I've seen bad grammar, but this takes the cake.",
          "type": "example"
        }
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        "Used as an affirmation or accolade when one is deemed the top position in a comparison or contest; to win or be the best (at)."
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          "win",
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          "best",
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        "(idiomatic, colloquial, chiefly US) Used as an affirmation or accolade when one is deemed the top position in a comparison or contest; to win or be the best (at)."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "sense": "to be good or outstanding",
          "word": "steal the show"
        },
        {
          "sense": "to be particularly bad or egregious",
          "tags": [
            "British"
          ],
          "word": "take the biscuit"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "colloquial",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "word": "de kroon spannen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "word": "viedä voitto"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "word": "den Vogel abschießen"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "word": "elviszi a pálmát"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "word": "taka öllu fram"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "word": "hljóta fyrstu verðlaun"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
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          "word": "odstawać"
        },
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          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "odstać"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "word": "llevarse la palma"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "to be especially good",
          "word": "ta priset"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to be especially bad",
          "word": "de kroon spannen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to be especially bad",
          "word": "olla pohjanoteeraus"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to be especially bad",
          "word": "viedä voitto"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to be especially bad",
          "word": "den Vogel abschießen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to be especially bad",
          "word": "nicht mehr zu toppen sein"
        },
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          "code": "pl",
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          "sense": "to be especially bad",
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          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "to be especially bad",
          "word": "ta priset"
        }
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      "sense": "to be good or outstanding",
      "word": "steal the show"
    },
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      "sense": "to be particularly bad or egregious",
      "tags": [
        "British"
      ],
      "word": "take the biscuit"
    }
  ],
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    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "word": "de kroon spannen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "word": "viedä voitto"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "word": "den Vogel abschießen"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "word": "elviszi a pálmát"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "word": "taka öllu fram"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "word": "hljóta fyrstu verðlaun"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "odstawać"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "odstać"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "word": "llevarse la palma"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "to be especially good",
      "word": "ta priset"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to be especially bad",
      "word": "de kroon spannen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to be especially bad",
      "word": "olla pohjanoteeraus"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to be especially bad",
      "word": "viedä voitto"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to be especially bad",
      "word": "den Vogel abschießen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to be especially bad",
      "word": "nicht mehr zu toppen sein"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to be especially bad",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "odstawać"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to be especially bad",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "odstać"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "to be especially bad",
      "word": "ta priset"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take the cake"
}

Download raw JSONL data for take the cake 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 2024-12-08 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (bb46d54 and 0c3c9f6). 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.

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