Definition of "take up" []

• That which takes up or tightens; specifically, a device in a sewing machine for drawing up the slack thread as the needle rises, in completing a stitch. (noun)
• To pick up. (verb)
• To begin doing (an activity) on a regular basis. (verb)
• To address (an issue). (verb)
• To occupy; to consume (space or time). (verb)

Wiktionary.org : Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

• "The orphan, placed under the guardianship of his maternal uncle, entered the studio of a charming painter, Timoteo Viti, a pupil of Francia, who had just returned to take up his residence in the country."
• "The National Assembly was calling a special session Saturday morning to take up the president's request, said an opposition leader, legislator Alfonso Marquina."
• "Indeed, the number of cell interactions that go into one immune response—say, fighting off the microparticles that come out of a blast of diesel exhaust—would take up three consecutive chalkboards to show in its entirety."