Meanings
present singular third person ontakes · participle present ontaking · past ontook · participle past ontaken
- transitiveTo take on; undertake; assume.
In 1413 he entered into a bond of manrent at Dundee, with the earl of Crawford, that he, the said Sir Patrick," is becumyn man of special retinue till the said earl, for the term of his life, nane ontaken but amitie and allegiance till our lord the king, [...]
1862, William Anderson, The Scottish nation - UKdialectaltransitiveTo undertake a debt.
plural ontakes
- A taking on; that which is taken on; acquisition.
[...] as only about 4 per cent of library ontake would be affected.
1975, The Australian library journal, volume 243 more examples
In very faulted seam zones unduly high power ontakes of the plough drives showed that the set values were already too high.
1982, Glückauf: Volume 118, Issues 19-24Ontake of existing data This is a step that can easily be underestimated both in its complexity and in the resources required.
1988, R. P. Whittington, Database systems engineeringReevaluate your “ontake” factors. In addition to intake, you may also need to address factors related to what I call “ontake.”
2006, Don Nava, Fit after 40: 3 keys to looking good and feeling great - Page 74
Origin
- Middle Englishontaken
- Englishontake
From Middle English ontaken, equivalent to on- + take. Compare Old English onniman (“to receive, take”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
ontake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ontake
“ontake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ontake. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ontake,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ontake.
Source: ontake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.