take root

idiomatic phrase

1

of a plant : to grow and develop roots : to become rooted

… damage to the ecosystem makes it easier for nonnative plants … to take root and crowd out native vegetation.

—Mary K. Miller

2

: to become fixed or established

… providing the steadiness and resolve needed to ensure that civilizations can take root and flourish.

—Greg Grandin

A monstrous suspicion had begun to take root in his mind.

—P. G. Wodehouse

Examples of take root in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet even while mindfulness began to take root as the West’s most common form of meditation through the end of the 20th century, a handful of teachers continued teaching the jhānas, often surreptitiously. —Oshan Jarow, Vox, 7 June 2024

Christianity would take root here, but not for another 350 years. —Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024

Besides ruling the midwestern theater world in the era before regional theaters took root, Kenley spent over a decade in New York City as an assistant to Lee Shubert, one of the biggest Broadway producers ever. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 5 May 2024

The grand jury's decision could levy criminal consequences for an unprecedented plot to subvert the will of Arizona voters, one that has ruptured faith in elections and fueled conspiracies that have taken root in GOP politics in the state. —Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 24 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1