take charge

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

1. To assume control or responsibility.
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 10, in The Celebrity:

     The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.

   • 2011 November 12, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport:

     Capello was missing his son's wedding in Milan to take charge - yet his reshaped England team gave him cause for a double celebration as they overturned the odds in front of a delighted Wembley gallery.

• take command