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

The victim, 34-year-old Aaron Prout, and suspect, 37-year-old Sean Odonnell, had been taking turns shooting at each other while wearing a helmet when Prout was fatally shot, authorities said. —Tj MacIas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025

The idea is that motorists should drive in either lane all the way up until the final merge point, and then take turns and alternate merging into the open lane like a zipper. —Ahmed Jawadi, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025

Mountain gorillas get valuable sodium from decaying wood, and individuals take turns to eat, beginning with the alpha. —Rj MacKenzie, Popular Science, 28 Aug. 2025

The dogs take turns to dip their faces in the water. —Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025

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