take notes

take notes

To record important details of what one hears or sees (by writing or typing them) in order to study or reference them later. All of this information will be on the exam, so be sure to take detailed notes. I wish the journalist had just used a tape recorder, because the sound of him taking notes throughout the interview was really distracting. I didn't take any notes, so I was completely lost during the workshop after the presentation.
See also: note, take
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

take notes

Also, make notes. Record one's observations or what one hears in order to help recall them later. For example, Jim never takes notes in class and I think he'll regret it, or The decorator made notes of window measurements and other dimensions. [Mid-1500s] Also see take note.
See also: note, take
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • make notes
  • stop (one's) ears
  • stop your ears
  • your call is important to us
  • ahead of the curve
  • ahead of/behind the curve
  • bomb out on (something)
  • crib note
  • crib sheet
  • cheat sheet
References in periodicals archive
According to a recent study at Kent State University, the Association for Psychological Science (APS) and others, using pen and paper instead of laptops to take notes boosts memory and increases the ability to retain and understand concepts.
Write to boost your memory
According to the Doily Times Herald in Carroll, Iowa, a judge has barred a Times Herald reporter from taking notes at a vehicular homicide trial, District Judge James Richardson said a reporter's scrawls could "influence the jury in that they might think something is important if they see me writing," reporter Jared Raney said, Raney said Judge Richardson told him to file an expanded media request, which is commonly required to use cameras, camcorders and other electronic devices in Iowa courtrooms, if Raney wanted to take notes on paper, Such requests often take more than a week to gain approval.
Judge forbids Iowa reporter from taking notes during trial
Take notes from important events, including meeting minutes.
The "seven sins of memory": how they affect your program
Suzanne Tomlin, meanwhile, has her class take notes and pictures whether they are going to the beach or the theater.
"We use the handhelds now on almost every field trip," she says, "because we have the ability to take the pictures, take notes, and come back and have wonderful discussions on what we were out there on that field trip for."
Making marine science personal and portable: Florida elementary and high school students work together in aquatic-study projects. Their tools of choice? Palm handhelds with cameras and probes