taking 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