collocation · neutral
take up a sport
UK/teɪk ʌp ə spɔːt/US/teɪk ʌp ə spɔːrt/TAKE·up·a·SPORT
Band 4-5speakingtask2
to start practising a sport regularly as a hobby or activity
Examples
“After moving to university she decided to take up a sport and joined the rowing club.”
“Many people take up a sport to improve their health.”
“He took up cycling during lockdown and kept it afterwards.”
Band 8 sentence
“After university I took up a sport to counteract the long hours of sitting and found it immensely beneficial for my concentration.”
Collocations
- take up + a sport / a hobby
- take up training
Word family
take up verbtake-up noun (rare, e.g. 'the take-up of tennis')
Common mistakes
start a sport→take up a sport
do a sport→take up a sport
Say it for a higher band
5start a sport→6begin a sport→7+take up a sport
Synonyms
start a sport
Easily confused
take on
“She decided to take on extra duties at work.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Sport & Exercise
Learn it with its set