take on
teɪk ɑːn
Lifted onto your own shoulders — the picture inside take on
The picture Something outside you is lifted onto your own shoulders, and from now on you carry it. Put on lays something onto another surface; take on lifts it onto yourself to carry.
Where the picture shows up in take on
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work lifted onto your shoulders
I can't take on any more work this month.
aɪ kænt teɪk ɑːn ˈeni mɔːr wɜːrk ðɪs mʌnθ
I can't accept more work this month.
One more box is lowered onto the arms of someone already stacked to the chin
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people taken onto the team
The shop is taking on two new staff.
ðə ʃɑːp ɪz ˈteɪkɪŋ ɑːn tuː njuː stæf
The shop is hiring two new staff.
Two new people come in through the shop door and are handed aprons to put on
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an opponent taken head-on
She took on the manager in the meeting.
ʃi tʊk ɑːn ðə ˈmænɪdʒər ɪn ðə ˈmiːtɪŋ
She challenged the manager in the meeting.
She turns her chair to face the man across the table squarely
The fight is pulled over onto your own side.
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a color settling onto the surface
His face took on a strange color.
hɪz feɪs tʊk ɑːn ə streɪndʒ ˈkʌlər
His face turned a strange color.
A bluish layer rises onto a face that had been pale
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water loading into the hull
The boat was taking on water fast.
ðə boʊt wəz ˈteɪkɪŋ ɑːn ˈwɔːtər fæst
The boat was filling with water fast.
Sea pushes in through a gap in the side, pools on the floor, and the boat sits lower
All of it in one picture
Take on is one picture: a load from outside coming onto you. Take work onto yourself and you have accepted it; take people on and they join your payroll; take an opponent on and the fight is yours; take on a color and that color now sits on your surface. A boat taking on water is the sea loading itself into the hull. Whatever it is, the weight crosses over to your side.