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

When users clicked the link, they were taken to search results from the Ask Media Group domain rather than the charity’s website. —Nico Grant, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025

More than 250 were injured and taken to nine Baltimore hospitals, suffering abrasions, head injuries and broken bones. —Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 21 Jan. 2025

The states are seeking to invalidate Trump's executive order and stop any actions taken to implement it. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 21 Jan. 2025

The other man was taken to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1