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

All trash needs to be taken care of, even little twist ties and aluminum pop tops. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026

Corona Centennial took care of its first of three games against Trinity League opponents, beating Servite 41-21. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

He's really talked about our responsibility to take care of our neighbors as Americans, and voters' responsibility to lean on one another, make sure that everyone is taken care of. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026

The planar-magnetic driver takes care of the mid and upper-mid ranges, while the addition of a balanced armature driver tops off the upper end to provide focus and direction to the soundstage. — Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 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