Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to take one's sweet time

to take one's sweet time

3 7.5
Do something slowly on purpose and without hurry
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : tomarse su tiempo
  • "You took your sweet time coming back, Merlin!"
  • you certainly took your sweet time
  • taking his sweet time coming back
  • going to take your sweet time

Examples

  • "I'm afraid not." I pulled the chair out and sat down, realizing Ted Rich was going to take his sweet time about this.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • She was dangerously close to showing her ass to the world, a problem of which she was apparently oblivious because she took her sweet time before she finished.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "You took your sweet time," she said.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Those that did not took their sweet time getting here.

    Blog text (28)

  • You know lawyers take their sweet time.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "Marino, thank God, was taking his sweet time coming back."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • He took his sweet time rooting around the drawer for change.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • He knocked some dirt from his spikes, taking his sweet time.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • On a relaxing Sunday, we decided to take our sweet time enjoying breakfast, savoring every bite.

  • Instead of rushing through the project, she chose to take her sweet time to ensure everything was perfect.

Synonyms

to stall
vsto take one's sweet time
166 4.3

To delay doing something on purpose to get more time

is slow by choice rather than aiming to gain time
to take forever
vsto take one's sweet time
  • Informal
65 3.4

Lasts much longer than expected

is slow by choice rather than merely being long in duration
to buy time
vsto take one's sweet time
23 4.1

To delay something on purpose to get more time to prepare

is slow by choice rather than delaying to prepare or decide
to dawdle
vsto take one's sweet time
17 5.0

Move or act slowly and waste time, causing delay

is deliberate slowness for its own sake rather than accidental slowness
to stall for time
vsto take one's sweet time
  • Informal
6 4.8

To delay doing something to get more time

is slow without seeking to postpone decisions for advantage
to play for time
vsto take one's sweet time
  • Informal
4 5.0

To delay on purpose to get more time before deciding or acting

is leisurely rather than strategically delaying to buy time
to temporize
vsto take one's sweet time
  • Formal
2 9.3

To delay making a decision to gain time or avoid conflict

is slow without the tactical motive of avoiding commitment
to take your sweet time
vsto take one's sweet time
  • Informal
1 7.6

To do something slowly without hurrying, often slower than others expect

is the impersonal expression using an impersonal pronoun rather than direct address
to dillydally
vsto take one's sweet time
  • Informal
1 8.3

To waste time by being slow or unsure about what to do

is slow as a choice rather than hesitant indecision causing delay
to let the grass grow under someone's feet
vsto take one's sweet time
  • Informal
1 8.6

Wait too long to act and miss a chance

is deliberate slowness rather than neglecting or missing opportunities
to take one's time
vsto take one's sweet time
3.5

To do something slowly and carefully without hurrying

is more excessive and deliberately takes much longer than needed
to dally too long
vsto take one's sweet time
7.0

To delay longer than you should and risk missing something

is deliberate slowness rather than an unwise lingering
to drag one's feet
vsto take one's sweet time
  • Informal
5.5

To be slow on purpose because you do not want to do something

is slow from choice or leisure rather than from not wanting to act
to drag one's heels
vsto take one's sweet time
  • Informal
7.5

To delay doing something because you do not want to do it

is slow by preference rather than a reluctant resistance to act

Antonyms

to hurry
∞ 1.0

To move or act quickly because there is little time

rush
1 4.1

Done quickly under pressure with less care than usual

How Fast

sprint
55 2.1
to rush
403 1.0
to hurry
∞ 1.0
to take one's sweet time
  • Informal
3 7.5
to dawdle
17 5.0
crawl
19 2.7

Surface Forms

take one's sweet time infinitive
took one's sweet time past
taken one's sweet time past participle
taking one's sweet time present participle
takes one's sweet time third person singular

Morphology

take + one's + sweet + time

The core construction 'take one's time' is transparently compositional—B1 learners who know 'take', 'one's' and 'time' can infer the basic idea of not hurrying. However, the adjective 'sweet' functions as a figurative, emphatic modifier that adds an idiomatic nuance (deliberately slow or leisurely, often annoyingly so) that is not fully predictable from the literal meanings, so the expression requires some prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrase take one's sweet time may come from the image of someone slowly eating a favorite sweet, enjoying each bite and not hurrying. That's why it now means 'to do something slowly on purpose'.