Word.ws English Dictionary

takes the helm

takes the helm is the third-person singular simple present indicative of take the helm.

Meaning of take the helm

Verb

take the helm (third-person singular simple present takes the helm, present participle taking the helm, simple past took the helm, past participle taken the helm)

  1. (literal) To assume responsibility for steering a ship.
  2. (broadly, figuratively) To take over responsibility (of something) from someone else.
    • The nation was also at peace. The Cold War had ended before Bill Clinton took the helm, and his presidency had experienced nothing that could be called a major international crisis. Turmoil in the Balkans and Middle East was nothing new. Iraq required attention but no massive deployment of...2001, Barbara Olson, “The Final Frenzy: Finishing Touches on the Legend”, in The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House (Politics/Current Affairs), Washington...
    Synonyms:
    take the con

Questions about takes the helm

What is takes the helm the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Takes the helm is the third-person singular simple present indicative of take the helm.

Words near takes the helm in the dictionary

  1. takes the front seat
  2. takes the game to
  3. takes the gap
  4. takes the gilt off the gingerbread
  5. takes the heat
  6. takes the helm
  7. takes the initiative
  8. takes the knee
  9. takes the l
  10. takes the law into one's hands
  11. takes the law into one's own hands

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: takes the helm (page history and authors); take the helm (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “takes the helm.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/takes_the_helm. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.