take its course

present singular third person takes its course · participle present taking its course · past took its course · participle past taken its course

1. To progress in a natural manner without interference.

   King Charles has insisted “the law must take its course” after detectives took the unprecedented step of arresting his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

   2026 February 19, Jamie Grierson, Rajeev Syal, Vikram Dodd, “King says ‘law must take its course’ after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   1 more example

   Fortunately, Frank had devised a cool way of getting down the seemingly endless staircase. He’d found an old laundry basket, and with felt-tip pens had painted it with the colours of Queenie – red, white and blue. All he had to do was sit at the top of the staircase, and then let gravity take its course.

   2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN

   Synonyms: run its course