Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

take someone at their word

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.01 in modern English

Syllables: take -some-one at their -word
IPA

35

Scrabble Score

22

Letters

4

Syllables

13

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To take someone literally even though they may not have been serious; to take someone seriously even though they were joking; to take up a challenge that was initially meant as a joke.

Transitive verb

verb

To take someone's word for it, to believe someone without having the means to check that what they said is true.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"There’s no way to objectively know if a particular alterhuman individual is actually an otherkin, otherkith, or otherlink. As with matters of gender identity, they have to be taken at their word—sometimes quite literally: it might be a word you've never heard before."

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

takes someone at their word (present, singular) taking someone at their word (participle, present) took someone at their word (past) taken someone at their word (participle, past)

Phrases

on the face of it take at face value

Frequently Paired Words

on the face of it take at face value

Questions

What does take someone at their word mean?: To take someone literally even though they may not have been serious; to take someone seriously even though they were joking; to take up a challenge that was initially meant as a joke.

How to pronounce take someone at their word

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