take to
Britishverb
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to make for; flee to
to take to the hills
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to form a liking for, esp after a short acquaintance
I took to him straightaway
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to have recourse to
to take to the bottle
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to regard seriously
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Have recourse to, go to, as in They took to the woods . [c. 1200]
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Develop as a habit or steady practice, as in He took to coming home later and later . [c. 1300]
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Become fond of, like, as in I took to him immediately , or The first time she skied she took to it . This expression, from the mid-1700s, is sometimes expanded to take to it like a duck to water , a simile dating from the late 1800s.
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take to be . Understand, consider, or assume, as in I took it to be the right entrance . [Mid-1500s] Also see the subsequent entries beginning with take to .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The firm helped him plan what it would take to get there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
The crews who take to the air in Los Angeles must not only navigate each other, but air traffic to three regional airports and smaller, local air strips across the Southland when doing their job.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
One of the earliest to take to the air and the airwaves regularly in Southern California was also the first to die in that duty: Captain Max.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Join Henry Grabar on his quest to uncover how this invasive plant is taking over America—and what it would take to stop it.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
I barely saw Grandma sit down, let alone take to bed.
From "Finding Langston" by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
