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

Those changes seem to have taken root after some time working in Arizona with Rob Hill, the Dodgers’ director of pitching, before completing his rehab assignment with Oklahoma City. —Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 25 Sep. 2025

Nowhere else has that model taken root. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2025

Yet Chaeyoung has resisted them, grounding herself in memories that took root in childhood and continuing an honest dialogue with her inner self ever since her debut. —Billboard Korea, Billboard, 22 Sep. 2025

Here’s why, how, and when to dethatch your lawn so healthy, lush grass will take root. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 22 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for take root

• absolute
• arrowroot
• attribute
• bitterroot
• constitute
• convolute
• destitute
• disrepute
• dissolute
• execute
• institute
• involute