Skip to main content
to take care of

to take care of

1.3
To look after someone or deal with a problem
  • phrasal verb
  • /teɪk kɛr ʌv/
translation icon : cuidar de
  • I'm going to go home and just take care of some things.
  • take care of children
  • take care of the family
  • take care of one's own

Your your job is to take care of this one human.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • A female participant's uncle helped take care of her family after the loss of her father.

    Academic text (2008)
  • I'm going to go take care of it, all right?

  • That part we already know how to take care of, right?

  • And you also have to take care of yourself on the back end.

  • My mission is to take care of people.

  • You can take care of him for a night.

  • I told him that I was trying to take care of my family and my kids.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Often, a girl of 12, 13, or 14 is left to take care of the younger children.

    Academic text (2008)
  • As one inhabitant put it, "When you take care of the animal, you take care of yourself."

    Academic text (1999)
  • As a volunteer, my goal is to take care of the animals at the shelter.

Synonyms

to handle
vsto take care of
2.1

Deal with a task, person, or situation

is closer to personal welfare as well as handling tasks
to keep
vsto take care of
1.0

To look after someone and provide food or shelter

is broader, applying also to short tasks and problem handling
to care
vsto take care of
1.0

To look after someone or something so they stay safe and well

adds the idea that tasks and problem handling are also included
to look after
vsto take care of
472 1.1

Take care of someone or something to keep them safe and working

can refer both to personal welfare and to handling tasks or issues
to care for
vsto take care of
347 1.0

Look after a sick or injured person and give them needed help

is broader, covering general welfare and nonmedical tasks too
to manage
vsto take care of
239 2.3

To hold and use things carefully so they do not break or fall

focuses more on personal support as well as task completion
to mind
vsto take care of
199 1.8

To take care of someone or something

adds use for handling practical tasks and resolving problems
to tend
vsto take care of
174 1.0

To take care of a person, animal, or plant

is similar but also covers one-off task handling and problem solving
to attend to
vsto take care of
151 3.6

To take care of someone or something

extends this attention to broader responsibility for people and tasks
to see about
vsto take care of
  • Informal
91 3.0

To arrange and take care of something

includes arranging but also direct personal welfare and handling tasks
to take care of (someone)
vsto take care of
4 1.2

Look after and help someone so they are safe and healthy

also applies to dealing with tasks and problems beyond personal support
to caretake
vsto take care of
1 4.9

To look after a person, a house, or pets for a short time

is more general, covering both temporary and ongoing responsibility

Antonyms

1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

How Responsible

to manage
643 2.7
to handle
2.1
to take care of
1.3
to help with
438 1.0

Surface Forms

take care of infinitive
taken care of past participle
taking care of present participle
takes care of third person singular

Morphology

take + care + of

The meaning is compositional: 'take' (assume) + 'care' (attention/responsibility) with 'of' marking the object yields 'assume responsibility for looking after' or 'handle' something. This structure and sense are cross-linguistically common and follow normal English argument-taking patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can reliably infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Take care of comes from the simple image of taking someone into your hands or arms: take means to bring close and care means help and protection. So to take care of someone or something is 'to look after' them or 'to deal with' a task.