take hold

idiomatic phrase

1

: to grasp, grip, or seize something

took hold and hung on tight

—often used with of

take hold of the railing

… she took hold of his arm with both her hands, and looked up eagerly—oh, with such terrible eagerness!—into his face.

—Anthony Trollope

—often used figuratively

As word of the subpoenas spread … confusion and hysteria took hold of the social set …

—Bob Colacello

I did not want Merlin to retire from the job until I was ready to take hold of it effectively myself …

—Mark Twain

2

: to become effective, established, or popular

The change in the law has not yet taken hold.

… a swath of land that has been spared from lava flows long enough that rich vegetation has had a chance to take hold.

—G. Brad Lewis

… here in central California the French aesthetic has recently taken hold.

—Rebecca Coffey

Examples of take hold in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Scientists had expected temperatures to moderate this year, because a new, typically cooler weather pattern, known as La Niña, took hold in December. —Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2025

Could such an arrangement take hold in Trump’s United States? —BÁlint Madlovics, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2025

The most common expectation is a shallow recession brought on primarily by the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tame the soaring recession that started to take hold in 2021 and skyrocketed in 2022. —Cnbc Pro Staff, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2025

Flag football, after all, has taken hold in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. —Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 4 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1