grab the bull by the horns

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Take control of a difficult situation with confidence and determination

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

kiểm soát tình huống khó khăn với sự tự tin và quyết tâm

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: physically grasp a bull's horns
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

She grabbed the bull by the horns and solved the problem herself

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “grab the bull by the horns” mean?

Take control of a difficult situation with confidence and determination Literally: physically grasp a bull's horns

Is “grab the bull by the horns” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.