Meaning trap
take to
develop a habit
To begin doing something regularly or as a habit, often suddenly or unexpectedly.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To begin doing something regularly or as a habit, often suddenly or unexpectedly.
'take to' also has the more basic meaning 'to start liking someone or something'; this is the advanced sense.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
After moving to the countryside, she took to walking her dog at sunrise every day.
Many people take to checking their phones first thing in the morning, which can quickly become a difficult habit to break.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: He took to drink coffee at night.
Say: He's taken to drinking coffee at night.
'Take to + -ing', not a to-infinitive.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'Take to + -ing' is the idiomatic 'get into the habit of'; the formal version is clunky.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
take to + -ing
- taken to wearing
- taken to going
- taken to leaving
- recently
Don't confuse it
Related
Other meanings and phrases to compare.
- take to (to start liking someone or something) — 'take to' also has the more basic meaning 'to start liking someone or something'; this is the advanced sense.