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

Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, so Renaissance thinking went, were the cultural ancestors of the “West,” an imagined cultural space then beginning to take shape.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

It was really starting to take shape in his brain.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

"On Friday, a gradual drop in temperatures along the Atlantic coast is beginning to take shape following Thursday evening's stormy conditions," the agency added.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

That is why it is best to wait a few days or weeks for an “IPO base” to take shape on any new issue, regardless of whether it is soaring or crumbling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Now, through additional reports, a narrative began to take shape.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Related Words

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