Quote
1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.

“Justin did an amazing job. He took one for the team!”
- Actress Mila Kunis talking about her Friends With Benefits co-star, Justin Timberlake. (US Weekly)
Definition
1. Definition - Study the definition.
make a sacrifice for the sake of others
2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.
Remember last week, when we told you about how Justin Timberlake put his body on the line for a film by baring his butt in a love scene? Well, his sacrifice didn’t just impress his fans. It won him his co-star Mila Kunis’s respect, too. She says he took one for the team.
Mila says that Justin took one for the team. She means that he made a sacrifice by showing some skin, for the sake of their movie, Friends With Benefits. He did something that would benefit Mila and others, even though it might have been embarrassing or uncomfortable for him.
The expression take one for the team comes from sports. Sometimes, an athlete on a team takes a painful foul or puts his body on the line in some other way in order to help his team win. He makes a sacrifice for the benefit of his teammates.
You can also take one for the team by doing extra work on a group project at school, doing a big favor for your friends, or taking on extra duties at work in order to help your colleagues. You could say that’s what Justin did when he agreed to bare his butt on the big screen.
Have you ever taken one for the team?
Examples
1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.
“Joe has been staying late a lot at work. He’s really taking one for the team.”
“When all the flatmates’ parents were coming for a visit, Christine decided to take one for the team and clean the entire apartment.”
“George stayed up all night to finish a group project. He took one for the team.”