Phrase guide

take heart

intj · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌteɪk ˈhɑːt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌteɪk ˈhɑɹt/
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)t

1

intj

Meaning 1

Used when encouraging someone to bear or take up a difficult situation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Take heart, help will arrive shortly and everything will be fine.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To be courageous; to regain one's courage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • I took heart in the assurance that the issue was already solved.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: take courage, buck up

Antonyms: lose heart

3

verb

Meaning 3

gain courage

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: buck up

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cheer, hearten, recreate, embolden

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: courage — Translations
  • Galician: sé valente — Translations
  • Galician: sede valentes — Translations
  • German: sich ein Herz nehmen — Translations
  • Greek: καλό κουράγιο (kaló kourágio) — Translations
  • Italian: forza e coraggio — Translations
  • Japanese: 頑張って (ganbatte) — Translations
  • Japanese: 頑張れ (ganbare) — Translations
  • Polish: głowa do góry — Translations
  • Finnish: rohkaistua — to be courageous
  • Galician: ser valente — to be courageous
  • Greek: αναθαρρεύω (anatharrévo) — to be courageous
  • Greek: αναθαρρώ (anatharró) — to be courageous
  • Hungarian: felbátorodik — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: herða sig upp — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: herða upp hugann — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: safna kjarki — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: öðlast kjark — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: taka í sig kjark — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: hleypa í sig kjarki — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: hleypa í sig hörku — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: manna sig upp í að gera eitthvað — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: taka á öllu sínu — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: mjálma í sig móðinn — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: setja í sig móð — to be courageous
  • Icelandic: brynja sig þolinmæði — to be courageous
  • Italian: farsi coraggio — to be courageous
  • Italian: prendere il coraggio a due mani — to be courageous
  • Japanese: 頑張る (ganbaru) — to be courageous
  • Serbo-Croatian: одва́жити — to be courageous
  • Serbo-Croatian: јуна́чити — to be courageous
  • Serbo-Croatian: odvážiti — to be courageous
  • Serbo-Croatian: junáčiti — to be courageous
  • Swedish: hålla ut — to be courageous