take care

idiomatic phrase

1

: to be careful or watchful : to exercise caution or prudence

Because fish is more delicate than beef, take care when pounding it thin.

—Sam Gugino

Patients also should take care in storing their drugs because heat exposure could affect their efficacy, [Aaron] Bernstein says.

—Marlene Cimons

—often used informally to express good wishes when parting, at the end of a message, etc.

I'll see you next week. Take care!

2

: to give particular attention to doing or not doing something

When he had finished writing, Cluny pushed the parchment under his pillow, taking care to leave just a small corner of it jutting out.

—Brian Jacques

In this land of ritual, Westerners should take care to inform themselves of protocol.

—Jeff Morgan

Open oysters carefully just before they are required, taking care not to spill the liquor in their deep shells.

—Elizabeth Craig

see also take care of

Examples of take care in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the meantime, please continue to take care of yourself, and each other. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 May 2025

But the team can't get ahead of itself, and will need to take care of business in Game 6 on the road. —Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025

Dylan was granted work authorization and took care of his two younger siblings. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 30 May 2025

Playing in front of a home crowd up 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder took care of business and dominated Game 5 with a 30-point victory. —Nick Crain, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1562, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for take care

• aftercare
• anywhere
• billionaire
• chinaware
• debonair
• dinnerware
• disrepair
• doctrinaire
• earthenware
• everywhere
• frigidaire
• kitchenware