take the ball and run with it

verb

To continue working on something that someone else started, especially when one does so efficiently and successfully.

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Meanings

verbtake the ball and run with it (third-person singular simple present takes the ball and runs with it, present participle taking the ball and running with it, simple past took the ball and ran with it, past participle taken the ball and run with it)

present singular third person takes the ball and runs with it · participle present taking the ball and running with it · past took the ball and ran with it · participle past taken the ball and run with it · alternative pick up the ball and run with it

  1. To continue working on something that someone else started, especially when one does so efficiently and successfully.
Cite this entry
APA

take the ball and run with it. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20ball%20and%20run%20with%20it

MLA

“take the ball and run with it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20ball%20and%20run%20with%20it. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take the ball and run with it,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20ball%20and%20run%20with%20it.

Source: take the ball and run with it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.