A taker is someone who receives or accepts something. When a teacher asks “any takers?” for volunteers to help clean up after an art project, she's asking if anyone wants to accept that job. If nobody raises their hand, there are no takers.

The word often describes someone's general approach to relationships and opportunities. A taker might always accept help but rarely offer it in return. If your friend constantly borrows your colored pencils but never shares their own supplies, they're being a taker. This kind of person focuses on what they can get rather than what they can give.

In business, deal takers are companies or people willing to accept an offer. If a house has been for sale for months with no takers, it means nobody has agreed to buy it yet.

You'll also hear taker in specific contexts: a risk-taker is someone willing to try uncertain or dangerous things, a test-taker is someone taking an exam, and a census taker is someone collecting information for a population count.

The opposite of a taker is often called a giver, someone who focuses on contributing and helping others. Most friendships work best when everyone gives and takes in roughly equal measure, rather than one person doing all the taking while the other does all the giving.