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

In 1999, when Hugo Chávez rose to power in Venezuela, his government took care of providing fuel to Cuba at preferential prices, and the blackouts dissipated. —Whitney Eulich, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Nov. 2024

Detroit is offering free rides to medical appointments for pregnant women or anyone taking care of an infant. —Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press, 21 Nov. 2024

Just open or close the folio cover and sensors in the tablet will take care of the rest. —Anthony Karcz, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024

The idea that individuals can and should take care of themselves. —Lauren Goode, WIRED, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1562, in the meaning defined at sense 2