take the l

verb

To take the loss: to lose a game or competition and to accept that fact; to make a mistake or to otherwise be beset with unfortunate circumstances and recognize the outcome.

“We took the L (elevated train) to get downtown last night.”

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Meanings

take the l1

verbtake the l (third-person singular simple present takes the l, present participle taking the l, simple past took the l, past participle taken the l)

present singular third person takes the l · participle present taking the l · past took the l · participle past taken the l

  1. alternativeAlternative form of take the L.

take the L2

verbtake the L (third-person singular simple present takes the L, present participle taking the L, simple past took the L, past participle taken the L)

present singular third person takes the L · participle present taking the L · past took the L · participle past taken the L · alternative take the l · alternative take an L · alternative take an l · alternative take Ls · alternative take L's

  1. slangTo take the loss: to lose a game or competition and to accept that fact; to make a mistake or to otherwise be beset with unfortunate circumstances and recognize the outcome.

    Dom (David Jonsson): Please tell me you dumped his arse right there and then. […] Yas (Vivian Oparah): Nope. I took a big L and got this prick some fucking hummus.

    2023, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia, directed by Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane
    1 more example

    Chase [Stokes], Rudy [Pankow], and JD [Jonathan Daviss], we know the Pogues have taken a lot of L’s up to this point. What advice would you give to your characters heading into season 4?

    2024 August 1, Kat Moon, “We Took the Guys of ‘Outer Banks’ to Therapy”, in Cosmopolitan
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see take, L.

    We took the L (elevated train) to get downtown last night.

Origin

From take + the + L, in various senses (L as loss or L as elevated).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Portuguese fazer o L
  • fazer o Lverb
Spanish resignarse a la pérdida (aceptar), (tener que) aceptar el cate/fracaso
  • resignarse a la pérdida (aceptar) (tener que)verb
  • (tener que) aceptar el cate/fracasoverb
Cite this entry
APA

take the l. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20l

MLA

“take the l.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20l. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take the l,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20l.

Source: take the l on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.