take out — invite someone and pay for them
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
To invite someone to go somewhere, such as a restaurant or event, and pay for them.
Say it like a native
Textbook I shall invite her to dine at my expense.
Native I'm going to take her out for dinner.
'Take someone out' is the natural way to say you'll treat them; the formal version is stilted.
Pattern: take someone out (for something)
In use
- He took his parents out for dinner to celebrate their anniversary.relationships
- When I want to show appreciation, I like to take my friends out for coffee and a chat.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I took out her for dinner.
✓ I took her out for dinner.
With a person, the object goes in the middle: 'take her out'.
Common collocations
take out + treat— for dinner, for a meal, to celebrate, on a date
Don't confuse it
Different from 'go out', which just means to leave home for fun, not necessarily paying for someone.
Related
- take out (remove something from a place) — Another meaning of 'take out' is 'remove something from a place'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.