take matters into one's own hands en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, intransitive) To deal with a problem alone instead of waiting on others (often persons who are responsible and have failed to deal with the issue).
But while the two strapping front men battered Foster, they could not better him, and in the absence of tangible reward for his creative efforts, Pennant almost took matters into his own hands, curling a low free-kick inches wide of Foster's left-hand upright.
2011 February 12, Les Roopanarine, “Birmingham 1 - 0 Stoke”, in BBC:But as soon as McKenzie was informed, she sprang into action and decided to take matters into her own hands. […] The Harris County Sheriff’s Department told them to wait 24 hours before filing a formal missing persons report because he was an adult. But the family didn’t wait; they launched their own search.
2026 August 23, Aniket Chaughule, “Christopher Thompkins Vanished From a Georgia Survey Site in 2002. His Coworkers Were Only 50 Feet Away”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 24 Aug 2026:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| taken matters into one's own hands | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| takes matters into one's own hands | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| took matters into one's own hands | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| taking matters into one's own hands | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Relateds
scratch one's own itch · take the law into one's own hands
Synonyms
take the matter into one's own hands
Translations (5)
pl wziąć sprawy w swoje ręce (Translations) · fr prendre les choses en main (Translations) · pl brać sprawy w swoje ręce (Translations) · sv ta saken i egna händer (Translations) · fi ottaa asiat omiin käsiinsä (Translations)