"gain foothold" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to a situation in which someone or something is beginning to become firmly established. Example: The new store has started to gain foothold in the local market.
Al Qaeda and its affiliates try to gain foothold in some of the most distant and unforgiving places on Earth.
Similar technological changes in jet engines and agricultural tractors can allow tech giants to gain foothold in these industries as well.
DealBook » In Trial Program, Six Foreign Hedge Funds to Gain Foothold in China | Regulators in the city of Shanghai have agreed to let a group of American and British hedge funds raise $50 million each from Chinese institutions to invest around the world.
Owned by SK Telecom, trying to gain foothold in U.S. Orkut | headquartered in: Mountain View, California.
Owned by SK Telecom, trying to gain foothold in U.S. Orkut | headquartered in: Mountain View, calif.
However, it remains to be seen, in the near future, a pronounced role for the mother, more so as women entrepreneurs gain foothold and pass on the skills and ease the problems for their future generations rather than the overdependence on the father's business.
Once aliens gain footholds, they are nearly impossible to extricate, and the consequences for ecosystems can be devastating, Larson warns.
"After that we were looking to gain footholds in the Irish half but they prevented us from doing so.
Green construction is gaining foothold among professionals, decision makers and the broader public.
Alternative fuel finally gaining foothold in O.C.
Pharmacokinetic analyses are gaining foothold in the treatment of TB, where they are available.
