Dictionary Home » The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms » take a leaf out of someone's book

take a leaf out of someone's book

take a leaf out of someone's book idiom
Imitate or follow someone's example, as in Harriet took a leaf out of her mother's book and began to keep track of how much money she was spending on food. This idiom alludes to tearing a page from a book. [c. 1800]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.