English

Verb

take to

1. (idiomatic) To adapt to; to learn, grasp or master.

   Although he had never skated before, he took to it quickly, and soon glided around the ice with ease.‎

   I take to swimming like a fish.‎

2. (idiomatic) To enter; to go into or move towards.

   As the train rushed through, thousands of birds took to the air at once.‎

   • 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:

     WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets.

3. (idiomatic) To begin, as a new habit or practice.

   After the third one was rejected, she took to asking the department to check the form before she submitted it.‎

4. (idiomatic, of persons) To be attracted to.
   • 2002 Dec. 22, Kerry Hardie, "First Chapter: A Winter Marriage," New York Times (retrieved 9 June 2015):

     She met Ned when he was looking anyway. . . . And he took to her, he liked her crooked straightness from the start.

Derived terms

• like a duck takes to water