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 employee had struck her head after falling from a moving golf cart and was taken to a local hospital in grave condition, the statement read. —Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2024

One victim, 37-year-old Jose Ramirez, was killed, and a 30-year-old man was taken to a hospital with stab wounds. —Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2024

For example, Saweetie has been open about her affinity for odd food pairings and often takes to social media to share her snacks. —Jasmine Browley, Essence, 7 June 2024

But at a campaign rally for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Phoenix, 11 people fell ill from heat exhaustion by late afternoon and were taken to the hospital, where they were treated and released, fire officials said. —Rachel Ventresca, Fortune, 6 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1