take out — kill or destroy
phrasal verbC2IELTS 8+neutralrare
To deliberately kill, destroy, or neutralise a person, group, or target, especially in a military, criminal, or strategic context.
Say it like a native
Textbook The unit was ordered to neutralise the enemy position.
Native The unit was sent in to take out the target.
'Take out' is the blunt operational verb for destroying a target; 'neutralise' is military-formal but 'take out' is what's actually said.
Pattern: take out + object
In use
- The special forces were ordered to take out the enemy communications centre before dawn.crime
- Some argue that drone strikes are justified if they take out high-value terrorist targets, while others question the ethical implications of such actions.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ A drone took out it.
✓ A drone took it out.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'take it out'.
Common collocations
take out + target— the target, an enemy tank, the power grid, a sniper
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense ('remove from a place') and the B2 sense ('invite and pay for someone'), this sense is figurative and refers to eliminating a target, not physically removing or socially inviting.
Related
- take out (remove something from a place) — 'take out' also has the more basic meaning 'remove something from a place'; this is the advanced sense.