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

As Venus and wound-healing Chiron clash, a scarcity mentality takes hold. —USA TODAY, 6 July 2024

Advertisement The grasses that have taken hold in the area include invasive species such as cheatgrass and Mediterranean grasses, which now fill the once-empty spaces of dirt that used to naturally exist between native desert plants, Travaglio said. —Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2024

Cherished songs or poems, a long day at the bar, listening to a dear friend tell a story—when these balms prove powerless, a different kind of terror takes hold. —Cory Leadbeater, The Atlantic, 1 July 2024

Rather than spoil the entire episode, below are key plot points that took hold of social media during the episode, and some hilarious memes detailing the action, spawned from Black Twitter/X. Check out these memes from House Of The Dragon Season 2, Episode 2. —Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 24 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1