what it takes

noun

Everything that is required, especially skill or endurance.

“You don't know what it takes to succeed at competitive frisbee.”

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Meanings

nounwhat it takes (uncountable)
  1. USidiomaticuncountableEverything that is required, especially skill or endurance.

    You don't know what it takes to succeed at competitive frisbee.

    1 more example

    She's precocious, and she knows just / What it takes to make a pro blush

    1974, Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon, “Bette Davis Eyes”, in Mistaken Identity, performed by Kim Carnes, published 1981
Cite this entry
APA

what it takes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%20it%20takes

MLA

“what it takes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%20it%20takes. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “what it takes,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%20it%20takes.

Source: what it takes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.