take care
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1. verb To be cautious or careful. Take care not to slip on the gravel as you're leaving. Be sure to take care and not get into any trouble while you're traveling. We have to take care when we're typing up the transcript not to change any words.
2. Used by extension as a parting salutation. Thanks for visiting, take care!
3. A parting salutation intended to be dismissive or indicate contempt for the one being addressed. A: "I don't think we can be friends anymore." B: "Take care then."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Take care (of yourself).
1. Good-bye and keep yourself healthy. John: I'll seeyou next month. Good-bye. Bob: Good-bye, John. Take care of yourself. Mary: Take care. Sue: Okay. See you later.
2. Take care of your health and get well. Mary: Don't worry. I'll get better soon. Sue: Well, take care of yourself. Bye. Jane: I'm sorry you're ill. Bob: Oh, it's nothing. Jane: Well, take care of yourself.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
take care
1. Be careful, use caution, as in Take care or you will slip on the ice. [Late 1500s]
2. Good-bye, as in I have to go now; take care. This apparent abbreviation of take care of yourself is used both orally and in writing, where it sometimes replaces the conventional Sincerely or Love in signing off correspondence. [Colloquial; 1960s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
take care
said to someone on leaving them.The usage arose out of the original, more literal sense, ‘be cautious’.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
take ˈcare (that .../to do something)
be careful: Take care that you don’t fall and hurt yourself. ♢ He took great care not to let his personal problems interfere with his work.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
Take care
tv. Good-bye, be careful. Take care. See you in Philly.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
take care
To be careful: Take care or you will slip on the ice.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
take care
Good-bye. This contemporary of have a nice day and no problem became current in the late 1960s or early 1970s and has spread like the proverbial wildfire. It appears both orally and in written form, replacing Sincerely, or Love in signing off informal correspondence. It does not, however, mean “be careful,” but rather appears to be a shortening of “take (good) care of yourself.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer