take (quite) a toll (on someone or something)
to cause damage or wear by using something or by hard living. Years of sunbathing took a toll on Mary's skin. Drug abuse takes quite a toll on the lives of people.
See also: take, toll
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.


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take a/its/their toll
to have a bad effect on someone or something (often + on ) Bringing up nine children had taken its toll on my mother. The disease has taken a horrendous toll in parts of western Africa.
See sound the death knell