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

That same business model, however, has struggled to take hold in the United States. — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026

A couple of the projects Oppenheim brought to Fielder reached the early planning stages, but nothing took hold. — Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 19 Oct. 2026

The downtrend channel that took hold in December 2024 has come into secular support from the monthly cloud model, denoted by the shading on the chart. — Katie Stockton, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026

Average tariff rates continued to fall the ensuing months, but made a reversal in August as the Section 301 duties took hold. — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 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