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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

take shape

And a plan with Wall Street giants to help backstop as much as $500 billion in financing for potential customers is just beginning to take shape.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 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

Now, that threat is beginning to take shape.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

But since the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in June, a detente appeared to take shape.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

An important consequence follows from this argument: we should not really expect to find reliable science before scientific communities began to take shape in the 1640s.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

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