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
In a lengthy post on X in November, Altman said large infrastructure projects take time to build, which is why the company needed to start now.
—
Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 2 Dec. 2025
Any court hearing will take time.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
Banta said the victim remains an employee at the station and declined to take time off.
—Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 28 Nov. 2025
Russia has emphasized the complexity of the issues and said resolving them will take time, even with the current progress.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for take time
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 2 Dec. 2025
Any court hearing will take time.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
Banta said the victim remains an employee at the station and declined to take time off.
—Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 28 Nov. 2025
Russia has emphasized the complexity of the issues and said resolving them will take time, even with the current progress.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for take time
Cite this Entry
“Take time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20time. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share