A British regional expression meaning to suddenly become ill — especially describing the unexpected, acute onset of sickness. If someone 'is taken bad,' they haven't been gradually declining; they've just suddenly gone down hard. The passive construction ('taken') suggests illness as something that happens to you rather than something you develop, reflecting that feeling of being ambushed by sudden sickness. Common in Northern England and parts of the Midlands.
He was taken bad at the match and had to leave at halftime — turned out it was food poisoning.
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(UK) To become ill.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.