take to
verb
took to; taken to; taking to; takes to
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 participletake 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
Calvin TomkinsRecently, he'd taken to wearing tuxedos and suits and had gotten a new car, she said.—Laura Italiano and Tamar Lapin
Laura Italiano and Tamar Lapin3
: 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
Joe AndertonExamples of take to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Some recipients took to social media to express their frustration.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2025
What are the top three steps the development team can take to reduce cloud spending?
—Jyoti Bansal, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
On Tuesday, January 7, the 40-year-old former Fashion Police co-host took to her Instagram Story to share her health struggles, revealing a 100-degree fever.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
Coldplay, Jack Antonoff, Peter Gabriel, Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers, Chrissie Hynde, Tom Morello, and others took to their platforms to bring attention to Salehi’s plight or signed their names to a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 9 Jan. 2025
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Denise Chow, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2025
What are the top three steps the development team can take to reduce cloud spending?
—Jyoti Bansal, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
On Tuesday, January 7, the 40-year-old former Fashion Police co-host took to her Instagram Story to share her health struggles, revealing a 100-degree fever.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
Coldplay, Jack Antonoff, Peter Gabriel, Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers, Chrissie Hynde, Tom Morello, and others took to their platforms to bring attention to Salehi’s plight or signed their names to a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for take to
Dictionary Entries Near take to
Cite this Entry
“Take to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20to. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
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