take five

idiomatic 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 As shipping the trainers by sea from Brazil takes five weeks, sending them by plane would allow the brand to more quickly replenish its stock, and sell more product. —

Emily Chan, Vogue, 9 July 2024 Both options had downsides: Repairs might only last 40 years, while removal could take five years to plan and secure permits, according to engineering documents from 2021. —

Evan Bush, NBC News, 29 June 2024 The Mets went up 5-1 on the Astros in the bottom of the second, taking five runs off left-hander Framber Valdez. —

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 29 June 2024 Water tests for contaminants could take five days, officials said. —

Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for take five

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take five.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.