take pains
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fed officials didn’t always take pains to communicate with the markets and the public.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 3, 2026
The people interviewed take pains to compliment Mr. Chase, though even a longtime collaborator like Alan Zweibel, who wrote for “SNL,” can’t repair 50 years of bad vibes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
In addition, “the crowd” has some degree of culpability, though some of the Gospels take pains to highlight that this crowd was stirred up by the religious leaders.
From Salon ● May 3, 2024
While a human perpetrator may take pains not to leave their own DNA behind, transferred cat hair contains its own DNA that could provide a link between a suspect and a crime-scene, or a victim.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2023
Honest mistakes must be clearly distinguished from a failure to take pains.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
