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

After being taken to the nearby hospital, both girls were pronounced dead, police said. —Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024

On Thursday, the actor pushed back against the doc, taking to X, formerly Twitter, to deny the allegations put forward in the documentary and on the British broadcaster’s program. —Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 May 2024

Many iPhone users have been taking to TikTok to complain about their alarms being too quiet or not going off at all. —Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 3 May 2024

Speakers disputed the university's account that 15 people were injured and one hospitalized, saying the number of people taken to the hospital was higher. —CBS News, 2 May 2024

Asghari took to social media on Thursday to comment on the split. —Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2024

Comedy is another reason Hanna has taken to life in California after more than 20 years living in New York. —Lauren Leblanc, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024

Two Miami police officers who entered the house to aid the family inhaled smoke and were taken to the same hospital in stable condition. —Omar Rodríguez Ortiz, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024

Lizards might have been doing the same in the Cretaceous, only taking to the water instead of becoming noodles. —Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1