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

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 teams will take turns hosting from year to year. —Carol Schram, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

The dinner guests took turns praising Trump during the event. —Zac Anderson, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

During the stream, Kardashian tagged along for Cenat's noodle game — basically, a challenge where the influencer and his friends take turns hitting each other on the head with pool noodles while participants wear helmets and don't know which of their peers slapped them from behind. —Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025

With two other young children at home, Ed and Sue Franzmeier took turns visiting Eric at the hospital every day for nearly three months, except during one heavy snowfall. —Imani Cruzen, Twin Cities, 31 Aug. 2025

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