take up the cudgels

verb

To engage in a contest.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

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

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

  1. To engage in a contest.
  2. idiomaticto make a defence for someone or something; to intercede supportively.
Cite this entry
APA

take up the cudgels. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20up%20the%20cudgels

MLA

“take up the cudgels.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20up%20the%20cudgels. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take up the cudgels,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20up%20the%20cudgels.

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