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take by surprise

take by sur·prise
T t

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [teyk bahy ser-prahyz, suh-]
    • /teɪk baɪ sərˈpraɪz, sə-/
    • /teɪk baɪ səˈpraɪz/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [teyk bahy ser-prahyz, suh-]
    • /teɪk baɪ sərˈpraɪz, sə-/

Definitions of take by surprise words

  • verb with object take by surprise to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me. 1
  • verb with object take by surprise to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly: We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar. 1
  • verb with object take by surprise to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, fort, person, etc.). 1
  • verb with object take by surprise to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning: to surprise the facts from the witness. 1
  • verb with object take by surprise to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended: to surprise a witness into telling the truth. 1
  • noun take by surprise an act or instance of surprising or being surprised. 1
See all 15 definitions of take by surprise

Information block about the term

Origin of take by surprise

First appearance:

before 1425
One of the 25% oldest English words
1425-75; (noun) late Middle English < Anglo-French surpris(e), Middle French, past participle of surprendre, equivalent to sur- sur-1 + pris (masculine), prise (feminine) < Latin prēnsus, -sa, equivalent to prēnd(ere), contracted variant of prehendere to take (see prehension) + -tus, -ta past participle suffix; (v.) late Middle English surprisen < Anglo-French surpris(e) (past participle), Middle French, as above

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Take by surprise

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Take by surprise

take by surprise popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 96% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

take by surprise usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for take by surprise

verb take by surprise

  • catch red-handed — If someone is caught red-handed, they are caught while they are in the act of doing something wrong.
  • get to — to receive or come to have possession, use, or enjoyment of: to get a birthday present; to get a pension.
  • got to — to receive or come to have possession, use, or enjoyment of: to get a birthday present; to get a pension.
All 9 Synonyms of take by surprise

See also

Matching words

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