take care of

idiomatic phrase

1
: to attend to or provide for the needs, operation, or treatment of (someone or something)
He is home taking care of a sick child.
Each operator can take care of three machines.
The schoolteacher began to feel like a fifth wheel. Her home was taken care of, and her children were taking care of themselves.Dorothy West
2
: to deal with or do (something that requires effort or attention)
My assistant takes care of all our travel arrangements.
He offered to take care of [=pay] the bill.

Examples of take care of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
So Urbani’s job was to procure those from a hatchery or catch them and then take care of them so they could be released. Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 8 June 2023 Once that’s done, KFON’s business support centre will contact and take care of the next course of action. Niharika Sharma, Quartz, 6 June 2023 One of the sections will be about how to take care of Social Security matters. Tom Margenau, Dallas News, 4 June 2023 As a result, Michaela finds a way to get out of the detention facility to take care of her father, with the help of Jared (J.R. Ramirez). Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 2 June 2023 See all Example Sentences for take care of 

Word History

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of take care of was in 1582

Dictionary Entries Near take care of

Cite this Entry

“Take care of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20care%20of. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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