take root

Idioms  

1. Become established or fixed, as in We're not sure how the movement took root, but it did so very rapidly. This idiom transfers the establishment of a plant, whose roots settle into the earth, to other matters. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

He denounced what he called "feudalism" that has taken root in the Central European country of nearly 10 million people.

From Barron's

A full ten years ago, way back in 1927, Willem had written in his doctoral thesis, done in Germany, that a terrible evil was taking root in that land.

From Literature

My ear was taking root to the floor.

From Literature

Despite occasional blips of good news, growth always seems to be softer than hoped and inflation more persistent, and a dangerous pessimism is taking root.

From The Wall Street Journal

Before its complete demise, it was almost brought to the Indian princely state of Hyderabad, where it could have taken root.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• burgeon
• germinate
• grow