take stock

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

1. (idiomatic) To scrutinize or size up something; to assess a situation.
   • 1882, Leslie Stephen, The Science of Ethics:

     At the outset of any inquiry it is proper to take stock of the results obtained by previous explorers of the same field.

   • 2014 August 11, Dave Itzkoff, “Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Comedian, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide”, in New York Times:

     In 2009, he underwent heart surgery for an aortic valve replacement at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, an event that Mr. Williams said caused him to take stock of his life.

   • 2021 May 5, Drachinifel, 42:53 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?‎, archived from the original on 19 August 2022:

     […] and the pillar of smoke which had recently begun to dissipate, as many of the fires amidships had been smothered by the onrushing water, was replaced by a vast mushroom cloud of steam, smoke, flame, and debris as the magazines detonated. In the pall of this apocalyptic destruction, the U.S. fleet takes stock.

   • 2023 August 23, Malcolm Holmes tells Paul Stephen, “A mission to develop GCR's legacy”, in RAIL, number 990, page 39:

     "But from time to time, all organisations need to take stock of what they do and why they do it.

• take inventory

• stocktaking

• stock-take, stocktake