take five

phrase

variants or take ten

US, informal

: to take a brief break (as from work)

They're locked in a fierce debate over the last scene of their film … when camp director and Hollywood veteran Sam Dalton finally orders them to take five.

—Megan Myers

Parry Aftab, the executive director of WiredSafety.org, offers these tips for dealing with troubling messages. … Take five. Instead of replying to a message that upsets you, step away and do something you enjoy for five minutes.

—Nicole Iorio

I could see his anger had nearly boiled over. … Coach Colby, who ran the defense, was the brave soul who stepped in. "Take ten," he said, placing a hand on Orlando's chest. "Cool off. Then suit up and meet at the fifty-yard line. Got it?"

—Brandon Terrell

Examples of take five in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Each photo booth costs him about $5,000, an investment that typically takes five bookings to recover. — Scott Withers, CBS News, 7 Nov. 2026

Broadly speaking, the track records of these existing launch companies suggest that developing a new medium- or heavy-lift rocket takes five to nine years from public announcement to first orbital launch. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026

Every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs takes five boys to remote Falstaff Island for a weekend of campfires and ghost stories. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2026

Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis went 21 of 32 for 211 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, also taking five first-half sacks. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take five

• overdrive
• alive
• archive
• arrive
• beehive
• connive
• contrive
• deprive
• derive
• khedive
• revive
• survive