take down — remove from a high place
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To remove something that is hanging or placed above you, such as a picture, shelf, or decoration.
Say it like a native
Textbook Please detach the painting from its position on the wall.
Native Can you take the painting down?
Natural; 'detach from its position' is absurd for a picture.
Pattern: take something down
In use
- Could you take down the clock from the wall for me?daily life
- During the renovation, we had to take down all the shelves in the living room to paint the walls properly.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Can you take down it?
✓ Can you take it down?
With a pronoun the object goes in the middle — 'take it down', never 'take down it'.
Common collocations
take down + thing on the wall— the decorations, the poster, the tent, the curtains
Don't confuse it
'Put down' means to place something somewhere, while 'take down' means to remove it from a higher position.
Related
- take down (write down information) — Another meaning of 'take down' is 'write down information'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.