taking hold

Verb

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

1. To grasp, seize.
   • The astonishing sight of the Cristo do Corcovado took hold of our attention.

   Synonyms:

   lay hold of

2. (intransitive) To take root, become established.
   • Then the highly virulent mental germs skillfully inoculated took a hold in the subconscious mind of European humanity; the disease developed rapidly, spread like wild fire, and raged unabated throughout the width and length of the central empires.1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress