gathered steam
Built up speed
Gathered steam describes gaining momentum, energy, or support over time.
The phrase comes from steam engines, which needed time to build up pressure before reaching full power.
Today it applies to movements, campaigns, ideas, or any effort that starts slowly but grows stronger: The petition gathered steam after the celebrity endorsement.
The past tense form appears more often than the present gathers steam, perhaps because momentum is easier to recognize in retrospect.
- buildCreate a structure
- pressureForce upon contact
- momentumProduct of mass, velocity
- rushQuick sudden movement
- took offDeparted or surged
building momentum · picked up speed · blast · heat · traction · gaining ground · rolling start · crescendo · chug · burst · caught fire · snowballed · snowball effect · progress · moving forward · development · growth · escalation
gathered steamlost momentum
stalled out · slowed down · petered out · wound down · tapered off
gathered steamstalled
Stopped unexpectedly
stopped dead · hit a wall · bogged down · died on the vine · went nowhere
gathered steamcollapsed
Fell inward suddenly
died out · fell apart · imploded · stopped dead · hit the brakes
gather, gathered, gathering, gathers, steam, steams, steamed, steaming, steamer