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

Several people were injured during an altercation, police said, and Dallas Fire-Rescue took five victims to a hospital. —S.e. Jenkins, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026

Al-Zubaidi ran for it, taking five of his top lieutenants to a military camp in Aden. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026

Additional officers were called to take five people into custody, the statement said. —Elissa Jorgensen, Dallas Morning News, 19 Jan. 2026

There have been some pieces that have taken five or six different hikes to get the right lighting. —Outside, 18 Jan. 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
• revive
• survive
• dive