take shape

Idioms  

1. Also, shape up. Turn out, develop, acquire a distinctive form, as in Her reelection campaign is already taking shape, two years before the election, or Can you tell us how the book is shaping up? The first term dates from the mid-1700s and the variant, originally put as shape out, from about 1600.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

take shape

Fourth-grader Liliana Guzman, another student council member, remembered watching the work take shape during the previous school year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

City's midfield transformation continues to take shape with the acquisition of teenage star Bouaddi, who will play alongside club-record signing Anderson.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

A two-part webinar will examine the geopolitical implications of these latest developments in the economic campaign against Iran, how enforcement might take shape and the risk and compliance challenges for companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

If it were possible to watch the earliest cells take shape, the scene may have involved two distinct forms of primitive cellular life.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

Meggie couldn't remember ever hearing it before, yet it sounded familiar, like a distant memory that wouldn’t take shape properly.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

Related Words

• brew
• come on
• dominate
• emerge
• hover
• mount
• overshadow
• portend
• soar
• stand out
• threaten