take time out

verb

To temporarily suspend an activity in order to do something else.

“I took time out from my studies to travel for a year.”

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Meanings

verbtake time out (third-person singular simple present takes time out, present participle taking time out, simple past took time out, past participle taken time out)

present singular third person takes time out · participle present taking time out · past took time out · participle past taken time out

  1. idiomaticoftenTo temporarily suspend an activity in order to do something else.

    I took time out from my studies to travel for a year.

    1 more example

    “Everyone recognised him but he was very humble and was happy to take time out for people to take photographs with him,” the spokesperson said. “It was a real pleasure to have him compete at our event.”

    2022 September 20, Danya Hajjaji, “‘Really nice guy’: Tom Hardy surprises competitors with entry and victory in martial arts contest”, in The Guardian

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
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Cite this entry
APA

take time out. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20time%20out

MLA

“take time out.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20time%20out. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take time out,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20time%20out.

Source: take time out on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.