Question
offwho
23 January

  • Korean
  • Japanese
  • Russian
  • English (UK)
Question about English (US)

is there difference between "take out" and "kill"?

i saw this sentence;
His enemies even sent assassins to try and take him out.

🤔 is take it out just indirect expression?
certainly in korean, bosses in movies usually say 없애버려! that literal meaning is 'make them disappear'(?) but it is same with 'kill them.'
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Answers
nautilii
23 January

Featured answer
  • English (US)

“Kill” is much more direct and unambiguous.

“Take out” can definitely mean to kill, but it can also mean to destroy or disable the person (so that they can’t hinder whatever goal you are trying to achieve).

So the context will help in understanding what the phrase means...

If the person saying ‘take him out’ is a mafia/yakuza member, then most likely he means ‘kill him’!

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nickortiz4167617
23 January

  • English (US)

There is no difference

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sunnii_
23 January

  • English (US)

there's no real difference. "take out" could mean removing someone from the running if its a competition of some sorts but most times it means kill

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nickortiz4167617
23 January

  • English (US)

Take out also means to eat out

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beeside
23 January

  • English (US)

@offwho yes, it’s an indirect expression of kill ^^ “take out” can have different meanings depending on the sentence but in your example, it means kill or get rid of. similar to your example in korean :))

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nautilii
23 January

  • English (US)

“Kill” is much more direct and unambiguous.

“Take out” can definitely mean to kill, but it can also mean to destroy or disable the person (so that they can’t hinder whatever goal you are trying to achieve).

So the context will help in understanding what the phrase means...

If the person saying ‘take him out’ is a mafia/yakuza member, then most likely he means ‘kill him’!

See a translation
1 like
Highly-rated answerer
miko0602
23 January

  • Polish
  • English (US) Near fluent

@offwho take out means to murder (kill intentionally) whilst kill you can do unintentionally

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is there difference between "take out" and "kill"? i saw this sentence; His enemies even sent assassins to try and take him out. 🤔 is take it out just indirect expression? certainly in korean, bosses in movies usually say 없애버려! that literal meaning is 'make them disappear'(?) but it is same with 'kill them.'
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