take one day at a time
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Focus on the present moment, rather than worrying about the future.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Tập trung vào hiện tại, không lo lắng về tương lai
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: handle each day separately
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
I'm trying to take one day at a time after losing my job.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “take one day at a time” mean?
Focus on the present moment, rather than worrying about the future. Literally: handle each day separately
Is “take one day at a time” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.