take to

verb

took to; taken to; taking to; takes to

transitive verb

1

: to go to or into (a place)

take to the woods/hills

Thousands of people took to the streets in protest. [=went out into the streets to protest]

He took to the airwaves [=he spoke on the radio] with his message.

2

: to begin doing (something) as a habit or regular practice

take to drink

—usually used with a following present participle

take to drinking/smoking

He's recently taken to staying up late on weekends.

A few of her classmates took to calling her Pipi, after Pippi Longstocking …

—Calvin Tomkins

Recently, he'd taken to wearing tuxedos and suits and had gotten a new car, she said.

—Laura Italiano and Tamar Lapin

3

: to adapt oneself to

They haven't taken well to the new schedule.

4

: to start to have a liking for

I took to her immediately.

He tried skiing and took to it quickly. [=he quickly learned how to ski and liked doing it]

Note: To take to something like a duck (takes) to water is to begin to do it, use it, etc., in a very quick, easy, and natural way.

She took to horseback riding like a duck to water.

Deanna takes to student life like a duck takes to water, doing all the things that we all did …

—Joe Anderton

see also take kindly to

Examples of take to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The third victim was in a gold Toyota sedan and taken to a hospital with minor injuries. —Charna Flam, People.com, 11 Dec. 2024

Following the shooting, Demian was taken to the OSU Wexner Medical Center in serious condition, The Columbus Dispatch reported. —Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024

Dispatch Lead Mary Hauger said an officer recorded the license plate of the suspect’s vehicle the night of the shooting, and the department added Monday a suspect was taken to the county jail. —Ray Lewis, Baltimore Sun, 10 Dec. 2024

Officials reported that two of the men were taken to a local hospital: one with life-threatening injuries and the other in stable condition. —Sophie Pendrill, Sun Sentinel, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1