When to use 'take' and 'drink'?

I'm confused when to use the words 'take' and 'drink'.

For example,

When we want someone to drink their medicine, we tell them to 'take' the medicine. On the other hand, when we want someone to drink some juice, we say 'drink' the juice, etc.. In both the cases we are telling them to drink something.

Also, is it right to say: "I take a cup of coffee everyday at noon", or would we say "I drink a cup of coffee everyday at noon" ? Which is a better version? What should I keep in mind when deciding to use 'take' or 'drink' ?

Or are they both correct depending on the context in which they are used ? Or does this not make any difference ?

Thanks for your help in advance.


PS Not sure which tag to use so feel free to edit the tag.


I think "drink your medicine" would be acceptable, and not strange to hear, provided that the medicine were in liquid form. I would say that "take" is more common because it's more general - it covers pills, etc. as well.

With coffee, you're always going to be drinking it. There's no other method of delivery. However, I also think it would be fine to say "I take a cup of coffee every day at noon" or "I take my coffee with cream."

On the other hand, I can think of at least one scenario where it would be very strange to use "drink" in reference to coffee, whereas "take" would work: when placing an order at a cafe.