take to heart

Verb

take to heart (third-person singular simple present takes to heart, present participle taking to heart, simple past took to heart, past participle taken to heart)

1. (idiomatic) To take something seriously; to internalize or live according to something (e.g. advice.)
   • He really took it to heart when I asked him to reconsider.
   • Will Americans heed his message? Will they take history’s lessons to heart? Or will it all turn out to be a temporary blip, a fleeting moment of goodwill and good manners, a mere gap in the clouds?2026 May 2, Simon Tisdall, “The king went to Washington to save Britain’s bacon. He may also have shown the US how to save itself”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
2. (idiomatic) To feel keenly; be greatly grieved at; be much affected by something.
   • Of course, with her weak heart and dropsy one couldn't expect that she could get about with him, but he spent two hours every evening in her room. He might well do what he could, for she has been a rare good friend to him. But that's all over, too. He never goes near her. And she takes it to heart....1927 March 5, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place”, in The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, published June 1927, →OCLC, page 281