take out on

B1 informal separable transitive

In simple words

When you are angry or upset about one thing but you are mean to another person because of it.

Literal meaning: To physically remove something from inside something else and place it on another surface — the idiomatic sense borrows the idea of 'extracting' bottled-up emotion and 'depositing' it onto another person.

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic informal

common

To unfairly express your negative emotions — especially anger, stress, or frustration — by directing them at someone who did not cause them.

"He had a terrible day at work and came home and took it all out on his partner."

"Don't take it out on me — I didn't do anything wrong."
— Common dialogue line; notably used in Friends, Season 3, Episode 2 (NBC, 1996)

Grammar: separable

2 B2 idiomatic neutral

uncommon

To blame or punish someone for a situation they had no part in causing, as a way of coping with your own distress.

"I know the project failed, but please don't take your disappointment out on the junior staff."

"She was taking out her personal unhappiness on the entire team."
— Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In (2013)

Grammar: separable

Usage notes

Almost always used with a reflexive or pronoun object between 'take' and 'out': 'take it out on', 'take your frustration out on'. The construction 'take [something] out on [someone]' is the standard pattern. Using this phrase implies the speaker recognises the behaviour as unfair. Slightly more common in spoken English than written.

Commonly used with

frustration anger stress it feelings family

Forms

Base

take out on

I/you/we/they

3rd person

takes out on

he/she/it

Past simple

took out on

yesterday

Past participle

taken out on

have + pp

-ing form

taking out on

continuous

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