take five

idiomatic phrase

variants or take ten

US, informal

: to take a brief break (as from work)

They're locked in a fierce debate over the last scene of their film … when camp director and Hollywood veteran Sam Dalton finally orders them to take five.—

Megan Myers

Parry Aftab, the executive director of WiredSafety.org, offers these tips for dealing with troubling messages. … Take five. Instead of replying to a message that upsets you, step away and do something you enjoy for five minutes.—

Nicole Iorio

I could see his anger had nearly boiled over. … Coach Colby, who ran the defense, was the brave soul who stepped in. "Take ten," he said, placing a hand on Orlando's chest. "Cool off. Then suit up and meet at the fifty-yard line. Got it?"—

Brandon Terrell

Examples of take five in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The All Valley Tournament in season four took two whole episodes, and this one might take five. —

Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 15 Nov. 2024 One hundred percent of seniors took five or more AP exams and scored a three or higher on one AP exam. —

Madeleine Parrish, The Arizona Republic, 2 Nov. 2024 Hutchinson had taken five extensions during months when money was tight. —

Byard Duncan, ProPublica, 17 Oct. 2024 The opening scene took five days of night shoots to capture and was more or less shot in sequence. —

Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for take five