take matters into one's own hands

present singular third person takes matters into one's own hands · participle present taking matters into one's own hands · past took matters into one's own hands · participle past taken matters into one's own hands

1. idiomaticintransitiveTo 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

   1 more example

   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

   Synonyms: take the matter into one's own hands