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

Before his death, Jones took to Instagram to share his love for his daughter Matina Jones. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

At least 11 people were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the fire department said Sunday night, adding several others sustained minor injuries but declined to seek medical help. —Robert Shackelford, CNN, 4 Nov. 2024

Here are five steps CEOs can take to navigate an election and its aftermath. —Nathan Christensen, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

The woman was initially taken to a police station and then transferred to a psychiatric center, according to the Telegram channel for the Iranian newspaper Farhikhtegan. —Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1