take shape

idiomatic phrase

: to assume a definite or distinctive form : to develop and become apparent or established

The plan is finally taking shape.

Edison's tireless work habits took shape during his childhood …

—Paul Gray

The proto-planetary fragments crashed together, coalesced by gravity, and crashed again into other fragments, until they gradually took shape as the planets we know today.

—M. Mitchell Waldrop

… the first half of the century, before the modern medical system took shape.

—Geoffrey Cowley

Examples of take shape in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The protostar, called EC 53, lies about 1,300 light-years from Earth and is surrounded by a disk of gas and dust where planets and other bodies are taking shape. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Juventus have started to click, an identity has taken shape. —James Horncastle, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026

These low-profile, cushion-heavy couches are starring in TikTok videos and living rooms thanks to their compact packaging, which lets the pieces take shape before your eyes. —Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Jan. 2026

This marks the next major spurt of development in Eagle’s northern reaches, where the even-larger Avimor and Valnova are taking shape. —Rose Evans january 24, Idaho Statesman, 24 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take shape

• cityscape
• agape
• escape
• landscape
• lenape
• reshape
• seascape
• soundscape
• ape
• cape
• crape
• crepe