take time

idiom

1

: to need or require time to happen or be done

You have to be patient. Things like this take time.

It may take some time for the medication to wear off.

The meeting won't take too much time.

This job is easy and will take no time at all.

2

or take the time : to use an amount of time in order to do something important

They never took the time to get to know her.

I took some time to think about it, and my answer is still "no."

Examples of take time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Buying when sentiment is negative means accepting that recovery may take time. —James Nelson, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026

As much as Doppelgänger is a testament to slowing down and letting good things take time, there’s a stark humanity in its awkward in-between stages. —Grace Robins-Somerville, Pitchfork, 23 Jan. 2026

The only problem is that even those take time and a bit of planning to execute. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 23 Jan. 2026

Don’t try to get moving in a hurry and take time to slow down for a stoplight. —Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for take time

• aforetime
• allozyme
• anytime
• christmastime
• cybercrime
• dinnertime
• guggenheim
• isozyme
• lysozyme
• maritime
• mesenchyme
• overtime