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

Alongside of Caitlin Clark, fans were excited to see WNBA rookie Angel Reese take to the court this week. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 16 May 2024

Fortunately, there are some steps that can be taken to help close opportunity gaps, namely the MWBE certificate. —Jasmine Browley, Essence, 16 May 2024

Among them were three California high school students who were taken to a hospital and seven students in Minnesota who were treated by paramedics after taking part in the challenge in 2022. —Steve Leblanc, Fortune, 16 May 2024

At least 16 people were taken to hospitals after the crash, three of them critically injured, according to a preliminary NTSB report. —Sarah Freishtat, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2024

But some fans took to the internet after the trailer’s release to criticize Ubisoft for setting the game in Japan and not having its leading character be Japanese. —Chantelle Lee, TIME, 16 May 2024

Still, new proactive steps were taken to address any workplace concerns. —Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2024

Authorities earlier had reported an adult male was taken to a hospital after an explosion was reported at the campus in north Phoenix, authorities said. —Eshaan Sarup, The Arizona Republic, 15 May 2024

The woman was taken to a hospital, treated and released, authorities said. —Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1