take on water
To slowly fill with water, as due to a leak or being washed by high wavesTo slowly fill with water, as due to a leak or being washed by high waves; to begin to sink.
» We take air and water for granted.
Wir halten Luft und Wasser für selbstverständlich. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Ми приймаємо повітря і воду за належне. — triantafillou
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 sensesTo slowly fill with water, as due to a leak or being washed by high waves; to begin to sink.
(broadly, idiomatic)To be in an increasingly difficult or risky situation; to falter or begin to fail.
Examples
39 sentencesWe take air and water for granted.
Ми приймаємо повітря і воду за належне. — triantafillou
deWir halten Luft und Wasser für selbstverständlich. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Plants take in water from the soil.
Рослини поглинають воду із ґрунту. — ChickenKiev
ruРастения поглощают воду из почвы. — Selena777
You can take a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
ruВы можете привести лошадь к реке, но вы не можете заставить её пить. — marafon
deMan kann ein Pferd zum Wasser führen, aber dazu zwingen, daß es auch trinkt, kann man es nicht. — Waldelfe
Tom took a sip of water.
Tom took a swig of water.
Translations
2 languagesForms
takes on water, taking on water, took on water, taken on water| Base form | take on water · to take on water |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | takes on water |
| Present participle | taking on water |
| Past simple | took on water |
| Past participle | taken on water |
irregular · Lesson
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.