the process of taking food into the body through the mouth (as by eating)
<noun.act>
a process of taking up or using up or consuming
<noun.process> they developed paper napkins with a greater uptake of liquids
Uptake \Up*take"\, v. t. To take into the hand; to take up; to help. [Obs.] --Wyclif. Spenser.
Uptake \Up"take`\, n. (Steam Boilers) 1. The pipe leading upward from the smoke box of a steam boiler to the chimney, or smokestack; a flue leading upward.
2. Understanding; apprehension. [Scot.] --Sir W. Scott.
Drenching topsoil with sea water has drastically reduced cesium uptake in test plants, Robison says, but scientists are unsure of its long-term effectiveness.