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take to

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take something to someone or something

to carry something to someone or something. Should I take this package to Carol? Would you take this to the post office?

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take to someone or something

to become fond of or attracted to someone or something. Mary didn't take to her new job, and she quit after two weeks. The puppy seems to take to this new food just fine.

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take to somebody

to like someone soon after meeting them We took to our new neighbors very quickly.

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take to something

to like to do something The children have really taken to tennis.

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take to doing something

to start doing something regularly She's taken to walking along the beach after work. After he retired, he took to working in the local schools as a volunteer.

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take to somewhere

to go to or escape to a place Caryn took to her room and wouldn't come out all weekend. The refugees took to the hills for safety.

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take to

1. Have recourse to, go to, as in They took to the woods. [c. 1200]

2. Develop as a habit or steady practice, as in He took to coming home later and later. [c. 1300]

3. Become fond of, like, as in I took to him immediately, or The first time she skied she took to it. This expression, from the mid-1700s, is sometimes expanded to take to it like a duck to water, a simile dating from the late 1800s.

4. take to be. Understand, consider, or assume, as in I took it to be the right entrance. [Mid-1500s] Also see the subsequent entries beginning with take to.

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take to

v.

1. To change the location or status of something or someone: I took flowers to my friend's house. Her comments took the discussion to a more sophisticated level.

2. To escape or have recourse to something or some place: They knew we were on their trail, so they took to the woods.

3. To start doing something as a habit or a steady practice: After I graduated from college, I slowly took to waking up early.

4. To become fond of or attached to someone or something: That child has really taken to her. He took to the piano as if he were born to play it.

See also: take