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

Before the service began, people took turns sharing what was on their minds. —Eduardo Medina, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2024

Nick and Felecia were barred from being alone with them, and the boys’ grandmothers, who had come to court and volunteered to help, agreed to take turns and maintain a constant presence. —Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 29 Dec. 2024

Make a plan to meet in your gym’s coed sauna or take turns giving each other a massage at home. 29. —Erin Reimel, Glamour, 27 Dec. 2024

In the sketch, Key and co-star Jordan Peele took turns impersonating a series of fictional athletes, introducing themselves in an ESPN style promo with increasingly bizarre names, such as D’Squarius Green Jr., Xmus Jaxon Flaxon-Waxon and [The Player Formerly Known As Mousecop]. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 22 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined above