Meanings
present singular third person takes one's time · participle present taking one's time · past took one's time · participle past taken one's time
- idiomaticintransitiveTo go about something slowly and carefully or at one's own pace.
Take your time — there's no need to rush.
3 more examples
Working with pick, shovel, and wheelbarrow, he took his time over the job, for it was not until May 17, 1816, that it was opened for traffic.
1951 July, “Notes and News: Recalling 160 Years”, in Railway Magazine, page 492"I love rock 'n roll So put another dime in the jukebox, baby I love rock 'n roll So come and take your time and dance with me"
1975 July, Alan Merrill, Jake Hooker, “I Love Rock 'n' Roll”, in I Love Rock 'n Roll, performed by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, published January 1982More minutes drifted by. Pierrot had another chance - and missed. At one point the ball fell to Andy Robertson and instead of taking his time and clearing, he hoofed it away as if his life depended on it. His football life, for sure.
2026 June 14, Tom English, “Why Haiti v Scotland was antidote to the ills of world football”, in BBC Sport - idiomaticintransitiveTo take more time to do something than is considered acceptable.
You sure took your time getting here!
Synonyms: dawdle, take too long, tarry
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
Catalan prendre el seu temps
- prendre el seu tempsgo about something slowly and carefully
Chinese Mandarin 不着急, 慢慢来
- 不着急go about something slowly and carefully
- 慢慢来go about something slowly and carefully
Dutch de tijd nemen
- de tijd nemengo about something slowly and carefully
Estonian mitte kiirustama, mitte kiirustama
- mitte kiirustamago about something slowly and carefully
- mitte kiirustamatake more time to do something than is considered acceptable
Finnish tehdä rauhassa
- tehdä rauhassago about something slowly and carefully
French prendre son temps, prendre son temps
- prendre son tempsgo about something slowly and carefully
- prendre son tempstake more time to do something than is considered acceptable
German langsam angehen, sich Zeit lassen
- langsam angehengo about something slowly and carefully
- sich Zeit lassengo about something slowly and carefully
Hungarian nem kell kapkodnia, ráérünk
- nem kell kapkodniago about something slowly and carefully
- ráérünkgo about something slowly and carefully
- nem kapkodja eltake more time to do something than is considered acceptable
Irish glac am, tóg am
- glac amgo about something slowly and carefully
- tóg amgo about something slowly and carefully
Italian con comodo, prendersela comoda
- con comodogo about something slowly and carefully
- prendersela comodago about something slowly and carefully
- prendersela comodatake more time to do something than is considered acceptable
Polish nie śpieszyć się, marudzić
- nie śpieszyć sięgo about something slowly and carefully
- marudzićtake more time to do something than is considered acceptable
Scottish Gaelic gabh ùine, gabh ùine
- gabh ùinego about something slowly and carefully
- gabh ùinetake more time to do something than is considered acceptable
Spanish tomarse su tiempo, tomarse su tiempo
- tomarse su tiempogo about something slowly and carefully
- tomarse su tiempotake more time to do something than is considered acceptable
Cite this entry
take one's time. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20one's%20time
“take one's time.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20one's%20time. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take one's time,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20one's%20time.
Source: take one's time on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.