whatever it takes

noun

Anything, including measures which may be extreme or wrongful, that is required to achieve an objective.

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Meanings

nounwhatever it takes (uncountable)
  1. euphemisticidiomaticsometimesuncountableAnything, including measures which may be extreme or wrongful, that is required to achieve an objective.

    "I'll do whatever it takes to win."

    1997 January 31, Mike Wise, “Intense and Erratic, John Starks Can Still Jump-Start the Knicks”, in New York Times, retrieved 29 Jul 2012
    1 more example

    [T]he security forces have exhibited few qualms about doing whatever it takes to quiet the streets, including the imprisoning of an estimated 2,000 opposition supporters.

    2009 August 5, Tony Karon, “A Weakened Ahmadinejad Sworn in for a Second Term”, in Time

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
by any meansby hook or by crook

Translations

French tout ce qui est nécessaire
  • tout ce qui est nécessaireanything required to achieve an objective
German koste es, was es wolle
  • koste es, was es wolleanything required to achieve an objective
Italian ad ogni costo
  • ad ogni costoanything required to achieve an objective
Japanese 何が何でも
  • 何が何でも (nani ga nan demo)anything required to achieve an objective
Polish za wszelką cenę, po trupach do celu
  • za wszelką cenęanything required to achieve an objective
  • po trupach do celuanything required to achieve an objective
Portuguese custe o que custar
  • custe o que custaranything required to achieve an objective
Romanian a face orice este necesar
  • a face orice este necesaranything required to achieve an objective
Russian во что́ бы то ни ста́ло
  • во что́ бы то ни ста́ло (vo štó by to ni stálo)anything required to achieve an objective
Spanish todo lo que sea necesario, cueste lo que cueste
  • todo lo que sea necesarioanything required to achieve an objective
  • cueste lo que cuesteanything required to achieve an objective
Cite this entry
APA

whatever it takes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whatever%20it%20takes

MLA

“whatever it takes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whatever%20it%20takes. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whatever it takes,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whatever%20it%20takes.

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