take root

idiomatic phrase

1

of a plant : to grow and develop roots : to become rooted

… damage to the ecosystem makes it easier for nonnative plants … to take root and crowd out native vegetation.

—Mary K. Miller

2

: to become fixed or established

… providing the steadiness and resolve needed to ensure that civilizations can take root and flourish.

—Greg Grandin

A monstrous suspicion had begun to take root in his mind.

—P. G. Wodehouse

Examples of take root in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By ensuring that the leadership team is aligned and accountable, the CEO sets the stage for the new way of working to take root across the organization. —Karl Moore, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025

This debate never gets much of a chance to take root or develop because there are too many other characters involved in too many other plots. —Noel Murray, Vulture, 3 Jan. 2025

The European initiatives of the early 2000s led to short-term suspensions of Iranian nuclear activities and, when these failed to take root in the long term, compelled Russia and China to support UN sanctions. —Richard Nephew, Foreign Affairs, 2 Jan. 2025

Some Americans wondered if such a thing was possible: a dance about individual expression taking root in a collectivist society. —Brian Seibert, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1