take to

See also: taketo and Taketo

English

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Verb

take to (third-person singular simple present takes to, present participle taking to, simple past took to, past participle taken 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.
    She took to swimming like a fish.
    • 1941 September, O. S. Nock, “The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley: Part V”, in Railway Magazine, page 396:
      This new batch was sent to Leicester shed, and the redoubtable enginemen who had made such a reputation for themselves with the ex-G.C.R. Atlantics took to the "B17s" immediately, although, of course, they required quite different driving methods; [...].
  2. (idiomatic) To enter; to go into or move towards.
    As the train rushed through, thousands of birds took to the air at once.
  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.
    • 1865, Lewis Caroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (poem:You Are Old, Father William):
      "In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, And argued each case with my wife"
    • 2022 July 27, Sir Michael Holden, “In praise of Crossrail 1... and in search of Crossrail 2”, in RAIL, number 962, page 34:
      I made a trip out on the line on Day 7 of public operation, and was delighted to see pretty steady use all along the line, even off-peak. It's clear that Londoners are quickly taking to their new railway.
  4. (idiomatic, of persons) To be attracted to.
    • 2002 December 22, Kerry Hardie, “First Chapter: A Winter Marriage”, in 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

See also

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.