take fright

idiom

: to suddenly become afraid

I approached very slowly, but the hawk took fright and flew away.

Investors took fright at the news and pulled their money.

Examples of take fright in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That inflationary hit could be compounded if investors take fright and sell the pound, putting additional upward pressure on import costs. —Joe Mayes, Bloomberg.com, 16 Oct. 2020