take one's sweet time

verb

To take a very long time; to be too slow or leisurely in getting something done.

Similar
take one's sweet little time
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Meanings

verbtake one's sweet time (third-person singular simple present takes one's sweet time, present participle taking one's sweet time, simple past took one's sweet time, past participle taken one's sweet time)

present singular third person takes one's sweet time · participle present taking one's sweet time · past took one's sweet time · participle past taken one's sweet time

  1. colloquialTo take a very long time; to be too slow or leisurely in getting something done.

    You took your sweet time And I waited by without complaint 'Til all the pipe dreams made me insane

    2008, “In the New Year”, performed by The Walkmen
    1 more example

    It had been almost a year since Brother Steve had left, and they'd been stuck with one substitute after another while the bishop took his sweet time finding a permanent replacement. Lindsay just hoped the wait would be worth it.

    2012, Patsy Caldwell, Amy Lyles Wilson, You Be Sweet: Sharing Your Heart One Down-Home Dessert at a Time

    Synonyms: take one's sweet little time

  2. MalaysiaSingaporecolloquialTo waste one's own time.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo take a very long time; to be too slow or leisurely in getting something done.

Similar
take one's sweet little time
Also see
take one's sweet little time
Cite this entry
APA

take one's sweet time. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20one's%20sweet%20time

MLA

“take one's sweet time.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20one's%20sweet%20time. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take one's sweet time,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20one's%20sweet%20time.

Source: take one's sweet time on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.