take up arms

English

Verb

take up arms (third-person singular simple present takes up arms, present participle taking up arms, simple past took up arms, past participle taken up arms)

1. (transitive with against or for) Prepare to fight; to arm oneself.

   Antonym: lay down one's arms

Translations

Translations

• Finnish: tarttua aseisiin
• French: prendre les armes (fr)
• Maori: hāpai pū
• Russian: бра́ться за ору́жие (brátʹsja za orúžije), взя́ться за ору́жие (vzjátʹsja za orúžije)

Further reading

• “take up arms”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “to take up arms”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “take up arms” (US) / “take up arms” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.