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

Claire is efficient, detail-oriented and always ready to take care of business, which is classic Virgo. —Valerie Mesa, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025

Rather than reach, the Dolphins could take care of another big need. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2025

How does Animal Kingdom take care of their animals? —Eve Chen, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025

Velasco took care to mention the Israel-Gaza war, in which at least 173 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 2023 — marking the deadliest period for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began tracking violence against journalists in 1992. —Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 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