idiom (v) · informal
take the bull by the horns
UK/teɪk ðə bʊl baɪ ðə hɔːnz/US/teɪk ðə bʊl baɪ ðə hɔrnz/TAKE·the·BULL·by·the·HORNS
to deal with a difficult situation directly and with determination
Examples
“When their project fell behind, the manager took the bull by the horns and restructured the team.”
“If you want to change careers, sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns and start learning new skills.”
“She decided to take the bull by the horns and speak to her teacher about extra support.”
Band 8 sentence
“Rather than postpone decisions, she took the bull by the horns and implemented the necessary reforms.”
Collocations
- take the bull by the horns and + verb
- decide to/take the bull by the horns
Word family
Common mistakes
take bull by horns→take the bull by the horns
grab the bull by the horns→take the bull by the horns
Say it for a higher band
5act→6take action→7+take the bull by the horns
Synonyms
face the problem
grasp the nettle
Easily confused
grasp the nettle
“If the budget problem persists, it's time to grasp the nettle and make cuts.”
Related words
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In Success
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