take in — understand or absorb
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to fully understand or remember new information, or to notice details around you
Say it like a native
Textbook It was difficult to assimilate so much information at once.
Native It was a lot to take in.
'Take in' is the natural verb for absorbing information; 'assimilate' is academic.
Pattern: take in something | take something in
In use
- There was so much information in the lecture that I couldn't take it all in.study
- During my first week at university, I had to take in a lot of new information, which was quite challenging at first.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ There was too much information to take in it.
✓ There was too much information to take in.
Don't add an extra 'it' — the object ('information') is already there.
Common collocations
take in + information— the information, it all, the news, the view
Don't confuse it
'Take in' here is about understanding, not about physically bringing something inside.
Related
- take in (deceive) — Another meaning of 'take in' is 'deceive'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.