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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Twitterverse was still taking shape at the time, so widespread snark and predisposition to derision was not yet pop culture’s default setting. Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 13 Sep. 2025 But that could change as the full impacts of the tariffs take shape. Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025 Leaders from Zillow, Experian, and Okta joined to discuss how agentic AI is beginning to take shape inside large enterprises. Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2025 Soon, plans took shape to escape through nearby woods with his grandfather, who was living in a house in the same ghetto. Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for take shape

Word History

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of take shape was in 1560

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Cite this Entry

“Take shape.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20shape. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.

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