take to — develop a habit
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
To begin doing something regularly or as a habit, often suddenly or unexpectedly.
Say it like a native
Textbook He began regularly consuming coffee late at night.
Native He's taken to having coffee late at night.
'Take to + -ing' is the idiomatic 'get into the habit of'; the formal version is clunky.
Pattern: take to + -ing
In use
- After moving to the countryside, she took to walking her dog at sunrise every day.habits
- Many people take to checking their phones first thing in the morning, which can quickly become a difficult habit to break.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He took to drink coffee at night.
✓ He's taken to drinking coffee at night.
'Take to + -ing', not a to-infinitive.
Common collocations
take to + -ing— taken to wearing, taken to going, taken to leaving, recently
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense ('to start liking someone or something'), this sense focuses on the development of a habit or repeated behaviour, not on feelings or preferences.
Related
- 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.