take turns

phrase

variants also British take it in turns
: to do something one after another in regular succession in order to share the responsibility or opportunity of doing it : alternate
We take turns washing the dishes.
Almost immediately, Rick and Diane begin videotaping their classroom lessons, letting their students take turns with the cameras.Ann Bradley
Several youths were around the phone, taking it in turns to gossip and joke with the operator.Christopher Isherwood

Examples of take turns in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Then the people in the room took turns, offering their support or not. Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 1 Sep. 2026 Melvin and Dreyer took turns congratulating and embracing Ikeda shortly after the news broke. Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026 Counter-majoritarian arrangements insured that democracy didn’t devolve into two parties taking turns tyrannizing each other. Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 On the plus side, the viewing angle is pretty wide at 178 degrees, so even four people wide, taking turns playing games, will all see the screen just fine. Joe Salas august 28, New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for take turns

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of take turns was in 1613

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Cite this Entry

“Take turns.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20turns. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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