take care
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (intransitive):
- To be cautious or attentive: To act with care, prudence, or watchfulness to avoid danger, mistakes, or problems.
- To be responsible for dealing with something: To assume charge of or handle a task, matter, or arrangement.
Verb phrase (transitive, with "of"):
- To look after or be responsible for someone or something: To provide care, supervision, or management for a person, animal, or thing.
Usage and Examples
As an intransitive verb (caution):
- Take care! The road is very icy.
- Take care to read the instructions before starting the test.
- He told me to take care when using the new machinery.
As an intransitive verb (handling matters):
- Don't worry about the booking; I will take care.
- She can take care; she's very organized.
As a transitive verb phrase with "of" (responsibility):
- Could you take care of my cat while I'm on vacation?
- He takes care of all the financial reports for the department.
- The nurse took care of the patient's wounds.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
"Take care (that)...": Used to introduce a clause advising caution about a specific outcome.
- Take care that you don't slip on the wet floor.
- Take care that all the doors are locked.
"Take care of oneself": Can mean to look after one's own health and well-being, or can be a standard farewell wishing someone well.
- You need to take care of yourself and get more rest. (literal)
- Goodbye! Take care! (farewell idiom)
"Take care of business": An idiomatic expression meaning to handle necessary tasks or responsibilities efficiently.
- He's the one who takes care of business in our office.
Variants and Related Words
- Careful (adj): Acting with or showing care and attention.
- Be careful when you drive at night.
- Care (n): The process of protecting, providing for, or supervising someone or something; serious attention or consideration.
- She chose the nursing home with great care.
- Caregiver / Carer (n): A person who provides direct care for children, the elderly, or the chronically ill.
- Professional caregivers are in high demand.
Synonyms
- Be careful: Exercise caution.
- Look out: Be vigilant, watch for danger.
- See to / Attend to: Deal with or handle a matter.
- Handle / Manage: Be in charge of, deal with a task.
- Look after: Care for, be responsible for someone/something.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Take over: To assume control or responsibility for something.
- When the manager is sick, her assistant takes over.
- See about: To attend to or deal with something (similar to "take care of").
- I need to see about renewing my passport.
Related Idioms
- Take care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves: If you are careful with small amounts of money, you will accumulate wealth. (Proverb about thrift)
- Take (good) care of someone/something: To treat someone or something very well, sometimes implying protection or special treatment.
- This watch was my grandfather's, so please take good care of it.
Verb
- take charge of or deal with
- Could you see about lunch?
- I must attend to this matter
- She took care of this business
- be in charge of or deal with
- She takes care of all the necessary arrangements
- be careful, prudent, or watchful
- Take care when you cross the street!