gain a foothold
establish a foothold

On land, it took a long time for life to gain a foothold.

If so, it was to the advantage of them all to gain a foothold.

At present, neither has gained a major foothold with the general public.

Maybe it was his way of gaining a foothold there.

Brazil used West to gain a foothold with the chief.

However, they managed to gain a foothold in the southern part of the island.

Millions of years later, new life slowly gained a foothold on the land.

It should not be hard to gain a foothold on Toy.

Death has a hard time gaining a foothold in such a universe.

This cautious approach has gained a foothold in our law.