take turns
idiomatic phrase
variants
also British take it in turns
: to do something one after another in regular succession in order to share the responsibility or opportunity of doing it : alternate
We take turns washing the dishes.
Almost immediately, Rick and Diane begin videotaping their classroom lessons, letting their students take turns with the cameras.—
Ann Bradley
Ann BradleySeveral youths were around the phone, taking it in turns to gossip and joke with the operator.—Christopher Isherwood
Christopher IsherwoodExamples of take turns in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Yet for two years, until he was fully mended, the other morans would take turns slaughtering animals to nourish him.
—Nurith Aizenman, NPR, 12 May 2024
As some of us rested, others took turns reporting and venturing out to document the encampment on the lawn.
—Hoda Sherif, TIME, 10 May 2024
This May, to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, four stalls at Gangnam Food Hall will take turns offering 30% off everything: Mondays at Matt Bakes, Tuesdays at Gangnam Taco, Wednesdays at Workout Rice and Thursdays at Seven Faced Bird Ramen.
—Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2024
The closet didn't have windows and the students took turns barricading the door, which did not have a lock.
—Jessica Van Egeren, Journal Sentinel, 7 May 2024
Tesla's earnings and autopilot take turns for the worse
But even as Tesla was trying to tempt us owners to pay up for the full self-driving mode in April, the news hasn't been great for the feature or the company's financial results.
—Jim Sergent, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
This has involved frequently changing our operating hours, generating content after hours and taking turns between my husband and me to oversee the store.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024
At a school board meeting two weeks later, a half-dozen mothers, wearing red to support Mr. Sanchez, held up signs and took turns reading aloud from the report of the second outside investigation, to rounds of applause from other supporters.
—John Leland John Leland, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The two women strummed their guitars and took turns singing the song’s lyrics before joining together in harmony for the chorus.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
Nurith Aizenman, NPR, 12 May 2024
As some of us rested, others took turns reporting and venturing out to document the encampment on the lawn.
—Hoda Sherif, TIME, 10 May 2024
This May, to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, four stalls at Gangnam Food Hall will take turns offering 30% off everything: Mondays at Matt Bakes, Tuesdays at Gangnam Taco, Wednesdays at Workout Rice and Thursdays at Seven Faced Bird Ramen.
—Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2024
The closet didn't have windows and the students took turns barricading the door, which did not have a lock.
—Jessica Van Egeren, Journal Sentinel, 7 May 2024
Tesla's earnings and autopilot take turns for the worse
But even as Tesla was trying to tempt us owners to pay up for the full self-driving mode in April, the news hasn't been great for the feature or the company's financial results.
—Jim Sergent, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
This has involved frequently changing our operating hours, generating content after hours and taking turns between my husband and me to oversee the store.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024
At a school board meeting two weeks later, a half-dozen mothers, wearing red to support Mr. Sanchez, held up signs and took turns reading aloud from the report of the second outside investigation, to rounds of applause from other supporters.
—John Leland John Leland, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The two women strummed their guitars and took turns singing the song’s lyrics before joining together in harmony for the chorus.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take turns.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near take turns
Cite this Entry
“Take turns.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20turns. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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