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 Countries, including the United States, have taken to air dropping aid — a costly and dangerous procedure — while President Biden has announced plans for the U.S. military to construct a floating pier off Gaza’s coast — something that could take up to 60 days to construct. Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 Police and medical responders arrived at the scene and Boyd was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted to an intensive care unit, the lawsuit says. Emma Tucker, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 Ricky Gonzales, a department spokesperson, said both 17-year-olds were taken to a hospital. The Arizona Republic, 15 Mar. 2024 Luckily, a lecturer rescued the shells before they could be taken to the landfill, reports BBC News’ Joanna Morris. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024 The mother was taken to a local hospital for emotional distress. Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 14 Mar. 2024 The 43-year-old singer took to Instagram to reflect on the evening, sharing a montage of best moments from the night, including the performances, the excited fans, the surprise guests and more. Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 14 Mar. 2024 This week, Swift has taken to Good Morning America to unveil the surprise songs and share exclusive video clips previewing the surprise song acoustic set performance. Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024 At the time, the eldest Beckham son also expressed a desire to emulate the path his dad took to fatherhood. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of take to was in the 14th century

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 28 Mar. 2024.

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