To quickly begin to like someone or something, often unexpectedly.
My son really took to his new teacher and looks forward to school now.
A: How's your new flatmate? B: Surprisingly, I took to her right away. She's really easy to get along with.
When I started my new job, I immediately took to the friendly atmosphere and supportive colleagues.
Common mistake
✗I really took to with the new teacher.
✓I really took to the new teacher.
'Take to' takes the object directly — no 'with'.
Tell it apart
She took to him immediately.
started liking him
She took after him.
resembles him
Use 'take to' when you want to say you started liking something or someone, especially after first meeting or trying it.'Take to' is different from 'take after' (which means to resemble someone, usually a family member).
To begin doing something regularly or as a habit, often suddenly or unexpectedly.
After moving to the countryside, she took to walking her dog at sunrise every day.
A: Have you noticed Tom lately? B: Yeah, he's really taken to cooking since he moved out on his own.
Many people take to checking their phones first thing in the morning, which can quickly become a difficult habit to break.
Common mistake
✗He took to drink coffee at night.
✓He's taken to drinking coffee at night.
'Take to + -ing', not a to-infinitive.
Tell it apart
She's taken to jogging every morning.
developed the habit
She took to jogging straight away.
started liking it — sense 1
'Take to' in this sense is neutral and typically used when someone starts doing something habitually, sometimes with a sense of surprise. It is not used for formal announcements or for starting structured activities (use 'take up' for those).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.