Meanings
present singular third person takes for granted · participle present taking for granted · past took for granted · participle past taken for granted
- transitiveTo assume something to be true without verification or proof.
Most people take the imprint "Not Transferable" for granted when buying railway tickets, and are sufficiently law-abiding not to think of transferring a return half to a relation or friend.
1959 September 28, N. Caplan, “Not Transferable”, in Railway Magazine, page 6461 more example
Let it be considered a delicate intimation on the part of the historian that he is going back to the town in which Oliver Twist was born; the reader taking it for granted that there are good and substantial reasons for making the journey.
1839, Charles Dickens, chapter 17, in Oliver Twist - especiallyidiomatictransitiveTo give little attention to or to underestimate the value of; to fail to appreciate, especially something one has grown heavily accustomed to; not to value or care for appropriately, out of the assumption that the person or thing not valued cannot be lost.
While she waits up You chase down the newest thing and take for granted what you have
2012, Taylor Swift, “Girl at Home”, in Red, performed by Taylor Swift4 more examples
These great First Truths, these good and gracious Tidings, these holy and humanizing Spells, in the preconformity to which our very humanity may be said to consist, are so infused, that it were but a tame and inadequate expression to say, we all take them for granted.
1825, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, Aids to Reflection in the Formation of a Manly Character on the Several Grounds of Prudence, Morality, and Religion: […], London: […] Thomas Davison, […] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLCHe had fiercely championed loveless ladies entering frustrated middle age, the married woman whose husband took her for granted and seldom into his arms.
1946 November 25, “Posthumous Portrait”, in TimeMany things we take for granted must have sounded unusual the first time they were proposed. For instance, imagine trying to explain to someone, for the first time, that you thought giving him an enema would be a real good idea. You'd have to proceed very subtly.
1997, George Carlin, “FIRST THINGS FIRST”, in Brain Droppings, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 68He barely needs a moment to think: "For me, there are three things. "First of all, never, never, never take our passengers and freight users for granted. Because I think after this, lots more people will be thinking about their choices very differently, and there's always a danger in the railway that unintentionally we take people for granted - and particularly in Network Rail with regards to passengers. So don't ever take a passenger for granted.
2020 May 20, Andrew Haines tells Stefanie Foster, “Repurpose rail for the 2020s”, in Rail, page 35
Synonyms & antonyms
verbtake to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Arabic سلّم جدلا
- سلّم جدلاassume something to be true without verification or proof
Catalan donar per descomptat
- donar per descomptatgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Chinese Mandarin 想當然 /想当然, 不予理睬
- 想當然 /想当然 (xiǎng dāngrán)assume something to be true without verification or proof
- 不予理睬 (bùyǔlǐcǎi)give little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Danish tage for givet, tage for givet
- tage for givetassume something to be true without verification or proof
- tage for givetgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Dutch voor lief nemen, als vanzelfsprekend aannemen
- voor lief nemenassume something to be true without verification or proof
- als vanzelfsprekend aannemenassume something to be true without verification or proof
- als vanzelfsprekend beschouwengive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Finnish pitää itsestään selvänä, pitää itsestäänselvyytenä
- pitää itsestään selvänäassume something to be true without verification or proof
- pitää itsestäänselvyytenägive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
French prendre pour acquis, prendre pour acquis
- prendre pour acquisassume something to be true without verification or proof
- prendre pour acquisgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- tenir pour acquisgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
German für selbstverständlich halten, für selbstverständlich halten
- für selbstverständlich haltenassume something to be true without verification or proof
- für selbstverständlich haltengive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Hebrew לָקַח כְּמוּבָן מֵאֵלָיו
- לָקַח כְּמוּבָן מֵאֵלָיו (lakáḥ k'muván me'eláv)assume something to be true without verification or proof
Hungarian készpénznek vesz, természetesnek vesz
- készpénznek veszassume something to be true without verification or proof
- természetesnek veszgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- magától értetődőnek érezgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Irish déan dóigh de
- déan dóigh deassume something to be true without verification or proof
Italian dare per scontato, dare per scontato
- dare per scontatoassume something to be true without verification or proof
- dare per scontatogive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Japanese 当たり前のことと思う
- 当たり前のことと思う (atarimae-no koto-to omou)assume something to be true without verification or proof
Latin praesūmō, praesūmō
- praesūmōassume something to be true without verification or proof
- praesūmōgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Norwegian Bokmål ta for gitt, ta for gitt
- ta for gittassume something to be true without verification or proof
- ta for gittgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Polish brać za pewnik, wziąć za pewnik
- brać za pewnikassume something to be true without verification or proof
- wziąć za pewnikassume something to be true without verification or proof
Portuguese levar na certa, subestimar
- levar na certaassume something to be true without verification or proof
- subestimargive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- não dar valorgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- dar como certogive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- fazer pouco caso degive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- não agradecer porgive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Russian принима́ть без доказательств, принима́ть на веру
- принима́ть без доказательств (prinimátʹ bez dokazatelʹstv)assume something to be true without verification or proof
- принима́ть на веру (prinimátʹ na veru)assume something to be true without verification or proof
- счита́ть само́ собо́й разуме́ющимся (sčitátʹ samó sobój razuméjuščimsja)give little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- воспринима́ть как до́лжное (vosprinimátʹ kak dólžnoje)give little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Spanish dar por supuesto, dar por sentado
- dar por supuestoassume something to be true without verification or proof
- dar por sentadoassume something to be true without verification or proof
- dar por hechoassume something to be true without verification or proof
- tomar por sentadoassume something to be true without verification or proof
- dar por descontadogive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- menospreciargive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- subestimargive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- dar por hechogive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- dar por sentadogive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- no valorargive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- tomar por sentadogive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Swedish ta för givet, ta för given
- ta för givetassume something to be true without verification or proof
- ta för givengive little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Turkish doğal karşılamak
- doğal karşılamakassume something to be true without verification or proof
Ukrainian брати на віру, сприймати як належне
- брати на віру (braty na viru)assume something to be true without verification or proof
- сприймати як належне (spryjmaty jak naležne)give little attention to or to underestimate the value of
- ста́витися до чо́гось як до нале́жного (stávytysja do čóhosʹ jak do naléžnoho)give little attention to or to underestimate the value of
Cite this entry
take for granted. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20for%20granted
“take for granted.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20for%20granted. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take for granted,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20for%20granted.
Source: take for granted on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.