take care

idiomatic 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

The architect and daughter of the owner, Carla Maugeri, worked closely with design studio Iraci to spruce up the manor house while taking care to preserve its bygone romance. —Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026

Daily headlines take care of that. —Shelley Smith Special To The Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 10 Jan. 2026

Mosley challenged his team to take care of the basketball and play with better energy and effort from the jump — two key factors that led to Orlando‘s demise at Washington. —Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2026

While free agency largely dominates the headlines at this point in the MLB offseason, Thursday marks an important deadline for clubs to take care of some other important business ahead of the new season. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 8 Jan. 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