take turns

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

Several youths were around the phone, taking it in turns to gossip and joke with the operator.

—Christopher Isherwood

Examples of take turns in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The two—my creative practice and my life—often travel often side by side, one after the other, each taking turns leading. — Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026

Both men reportedly took turns filming each other while firing rifles over the interstate, at a time when traffic was stopped. — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 22 Sep. 2026

The British series had been running for an impressive 22 years, with several different producers taking turns to steer it, but the latest BBC management disliked it. — Neil Oseman, Space.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Young people took turns on the ramps outside Neighbors Skate Shop. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take turns

• holofernes
• overturns
• subalterns
• adjourns
• concerns
• discerns
• downturns
• internes
• nocturnes
• returns
• sideburns
• churns