take shape

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

But even before the deal closed, the company’s new leadership was taking shape. — Todd Spangler, Variety, 3 Oct. 2026

Over the course of the next billion years, life on Earth slowly began to take shape. — Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026

With the conference race beginning to take shape, Saturday offers both programs an opportunity to strengthen their place among the league’s early contenders. — Wilton Jackson, AJC.com, 1 Oct. 2026

And as stores like Walmart and Kroger install electronic shelf labels across thousands of stores, the infrastructure for high-frequency dynamic pricing in brick and mortar shopping is taking shape. — Lindsay Owens, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 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