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

Remote work provides for greater time savings, and stress is reduced when that saved time is transferred to taking care of important personal and family priorities that may otherwise cause stress due to time limitations and demands. —Terina Allen, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025

But in the village, people took care of each other. —Vivek H. Murthy, People.com, 7 Jan. 2025

The Broncos took care of business, defeating the Chiefs’ backups 38-0 to squash any lingering hope the Dolphins and Bengals had at grabbing the conference’s final playoff spot. —Zak Keefer, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025

The best gambling apps take care of their customers’ money and are quick to respond if there’s an account or payment issue. —Christopher Gerlacher, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1562, in the meaning defined at sense 2