take care

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

The couple has a passion for healthful eating and taking care of the environment, providing for the land that provides for them, as Hakenah Hulitt put it. — Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2026

One of the easiest ways to take care of your nails at home is by oiling them. — Alessandra Signorelli, Vogue, 29 June 2026

Lead Argentina through it, claim the Golden Boot, and surely the Ballon d’Or in October takes care of itself. — Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 29 June 2026

The athlete told the outlet that his family members had been back in Venezuela to take care of personal documentation, and his wife, in particular, had been getting her passport renewed. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 27 June 2026

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