take hold

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

Teams where defensive leadership takes hold typically see meaningful drops in innovation metrics across the following year or two. — Jonathan H. Westover, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026

This new mood – a narrower, harsher definition of religious truth – had been brewing since the Reformation movement took hold in Britain around a hundred years earlier. — Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026

Geismer suggests that the market-forward liberalism that took hold during Bill Clinton’s Presidency can be traced to the suburbanization of the Democratic Party. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Beyond diesel, motor oil prices have quadrupled, and supply shortages are starting to take hold. — Greg Pollock, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for take hold

• copyhold
• decontrolled
• hundredfold
• manifold
• marigold
• oversold
• petioled
• sevenfold
• stranglehold
• subthreshold
• thousandfold
• uncontrolled