take the floor

idiomatic phrase

1

: to rise (as in a meeting or a legislative assembly) to begin speaking to a group

With Lott and Gramm staring at him as he took the floor during debate, McCain called the bill "seriously skewed," but said he would vote for it.

—Newsweek

At precisely 6:45 a.m. the rowdiness ceases as Sailor, a union safety expert, takes the floor for his weekly lecture.

—Jack Friedman

2

: to go out onto a dance floor to begin dancing

Several couples took the floor.

… the younger people took the floor, and all the elders sneaked back to their chairs …

—Sinclair Lewis

3

: to go out onto a basketball court to begin playing

Phillips hopes the scouts notice his quickness, his vision, … the way he changes the flow of a game as soon as he takes the floor.

—John Gustafson

Examples of take the floor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The team eventually scratched Khris Middleton following his pregame workout, but the rest of the team — outside of AJ Green, who missed his second straight game with a left quad strain — took the floor at 7:30 p.m. and tried to beat the Heat. —Eric Nehm, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025

As the gavel came down, India’s lead negotiator, Neelesh Shah, leapt to his feet to ask to take the floor, and when he was ignored made a furious timeout gesture above his head and led his team on to the stage in protest. —Ars Technica, 25 Nov. 2024

This time, New York took the floor with a clear mission: disrupt Thomas early, limit his impact, and secure a more decisive win. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 18 Nov. 2024

But the two East series that take the floor Saturday won’t be sweeps: Orlando got Game 3 over Cleveland to cut that deficit to 2-1, and Miami got Game 2 in Boston to tie the latest installment of that rivalry. —Tim Reynolds, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1