take root

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

But those gains were erased by the rising crack epidemic that took root, and once again, MacArthur Park was lost to the people who needed it most.

From Los Angeles Times

He’s the conflicted architect of a militarized theocracy that took root in America after a second civil war where the Constitution did not prevail.

From Los Angeles Times

Test results from this year revealed it had taken root in four more counties.

From Los Angeles Times

Sprawling homeless encampments took root in portions of the city once lively with workers and tourists, spilling trash and needles onto the sidewalks.

From Los Angeles Times

He says his defiance took root early - after scoring a goal against the local landlord’s son in a football match, armed upper-caste men stormed their home.

From BBC

Related Words

• burgeon
• germinate
• grow