take flight

Idioms and Phrases

Also, take wing . Run away, flee, go away, as in When the militia arrived, the demonstrators took flight , or The tenant took wing before paying the rent . The first idiom derives from the earlier take one's flight , dating from the late 1300s, and was first recorded in 1435. The variant was first recorded in 1704.

Example Sentences

The film may struggle to take flight, but when it does, it is undeniably moving, with a message of freedom and defiance that resonates now more than ever.

From Los Angeles Times

In one corner the lanky, headless skeleton of a Quetzalcoatl appears ready to take flight.

From Los Angeles Times

"But it never fully manages to take flight, leaving its provocative conclusion more jarring and confusing than revelatory."

From BBC

This summer, thousands of grasshoppers will take flight in northeast California, eating everything in their path and likely destroying crops along the way.

From Los Angeles Times

As we watch the oaks, there is a moment of excitement when a flock of crows suddenly take flight, suggesting there is a predator, such as an owl, about.

From BBC

Related Words

• abandon
• depart
• die
• die out
• dissipate
• dissolve
• escape
• evaporate
• expire
• fade
• flee
• fly
• go
• leave
• melt
• perish
• recede
• retire
• retreat
• sink