take turns

idiomatic phrase

variants also British take it in turns

: to do something one after another in regular succession in order to share the responsibility or opportunity of doing it : alternate

We take turns washing the dishes.

Almost immediately, Rick and Diane begin videotaping their classroom lessons, letting their students take turns with the cameras.

—Ann Bradley

Several youths were around the phone, taking it in turns to gossip and joke with the operator.

—Christopher Isherwood

Examples of take turns in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Each team takes turns playing eight stones (with each player taking a turn delivering the stones). —Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026

Most of the time, a child who is shoving at the playground or refusing to take turns with the blocks at daycare is just testing the boundaries of acceptable behavior. —Melissa Willets, Parents, 5 Feb. 2026

That is the halfpipe where snowboarders and freeskiers take turns zooming across its inclined slope to gather speed before launching into a series of acrobatic jumps. —Joseph Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026

Based on guidance from the National Education Goals Panel, kindergartners should be able to take turns and cooperate. —Makiya Seminera, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take turns

• holofernes
• overturns
• subalterns
• adjourns
• concerns
• discerns
• downturns
• internes
• nocturnes
• returns
• sideburns
• churns