to take the helm
12
4.4
- idiom
:
tomar las riendas
- If Tom doesn't pull through, we want you to take the helm.
Examples
-
In fact, whoever does take the helm of SW now should see to that right away.
Blog text (27) -
Goldman has a deep bench of similarly qualified individuals to take the helm.
Blog text (29) -
Go on, take the helm.
-
So something has to give, and someone needs to take the helm.
Blog text (12) -
We were left wondering who would take the helm of our beloved organization.
Blog text (15) -
We would be fools to pass on a chance to let a real businessman take the helm and right this.
Blog text (28) -
You got the makings of greatness in ya... but you gotta take the helm and chart your own course.
-
Beaverton Superintendent Jeff Rose took the helm last year and didn't have a say in previous budgets.
Blog text (20) -
A two-generation passing of the torch in the Yashida family.. as Mariko Yashida takes the helm from her grandfather, who built this tech giant.
-
After years of working in the background, she was finally ready to take the helm of the project.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To guide a group or be in charge
862
3.1
Begin to control someone else's job or project
465
2.9
To be in charge of a group or organization
227
3.5
Start to have power and make decisions about something
98
3.5
Start to control a group or situation and lead others
79
3.2
To start guiding a group or activity and make the main decisions
59
3.9
To lead a group or team
58
4.1
To be in charge of an activity or group
33
3.8
To begin to control a situation or people's actions
23
4.7
To drive a car or have control of a situation
10
3.1
Accept a job, responsibility, or part in a play
3
6.3
To be in control of a group and make important decisions
3
4.9
To be in control of a group or business
3
5.6
Lead a meeting as the person in charge
2
4.6
Lead a project or task and make sure it is finished
1
7.3
To take on an important role as a leader
1
7.4
To take on responsibility as the next leader
Start managing something after the previous person leaves
To start managing a task or group after someone else managed it
To accept responsibility for and control someone or something
Antonyms
How In Control
- Informal
58
4.1
∞
1.0
98
3.5
12
4.4
193
3.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to assume control' is directly derivable from combining 'take' (to assume) with 'helm' (the steering/control of a ship) — the nautical metaphor maps straightforwardly onto leadership. This composition is a common, predictable metaphor (e.g., 'take the rudder/timón' in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The idiom take the helm comes from old ships, where the person who steers holds the helm, the ship's wheel, to guide it. So, to take the helm now means 'to take control' or 'to lead' a group or project.