"take to" meaning in English

See take to in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-take to.ogg [Australia] Forms: takes to [present, singular, third-person], taking to [participle, present], took to [past], taken to [participle, past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|take<,,took,taken> to}} 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. Tags: idiomatic Derived forms: like a duck takes to water Related terms: take something to
    Sense id: en-take_to-en-verb-kXRM2pvw
  2. (idiomatic) To enter; to go into or move towards. Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-take_to-en-verb-Yk36CnAu Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs with particle (to) Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 22 48 24 6 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs with particle (to): 17 53 21 9
  3. (idiomatic) To begin, as a new habit or practice. Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-take_to-en-verb-80TCUDtO
  4. (idiomatic, of persons) To be attracted to. Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-take_to-en-verb-XJzFUyDs

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for take to meaning in English (4.5kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes to",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking to",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took to",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken to",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> to"
      },
      "expansion": "take to (third-person singular simple present takes to, present participle taking to, simple past took to, past participle taken to)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "derived": [
        {
          "_dis1": "57 43 0 0",
          "word": "like a duck takes to water"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Although he had never skated before, he took to it quickly, and soon glided around the ice with ease.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "She took to swimming like a fish.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1941 September, O. S. Nock, “The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley: Part V”, in Railway Magazine, page 396",
          "text": "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; [...].",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To adapt to; to learn, grasp or master."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_to-en-verb-kXRM2pvw",
      "links": [
        [
          "adapt",
          "adapt"
        ],
        [
          "learn",
          "learn"
        ],
        [
          "grasp",
          "grasp"
        ],
        [
          "master",
          "master"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To adapt to; to learn, grasp or master."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "57 43 0 0",
          "word": "take something to"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "22 48 24 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 53 21 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (to)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "As the train rushed through, thousands of birds took to the air at once.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To enter; to go into or move towards."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_to-en-verb-Yk36CnAu",
      "links": [
        [
          "enter",
          "enter"
        ],
        [
          "go",
          "go"
        ],
        [
          "into",
          "into"
        ],
        [
          "move",
          "move"
        ],
        [
          "towards",
          "towards"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To enter; to go into or move towards."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "After the third one was rejected, she took to asking the department to check the form before she submitted it.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1865, Lewis Caroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (poem:You Are Old, Father William)",
          "text": "\"In my youth,\" said his father, \"I took to the law, And argued each case with my wife\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 July 27, Sir Michael Holden, “In praise of Crossrail 1... and in search of Crossrail 2”, in RAIL, number 962, page 34",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To begin, as a new habit or practice."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_to-en-verb-80TCUDtO",
      "links": [
        [
          "begin",
          "begin"
        ],
        [
          "habit",
          "habit"
        ],
        [
          "practice",
          "practice"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To begin, as a new habit or practice."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2002 December 22, Kerry Hardie, “First Chapter: A Winter Marriage”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-06-09",
          "text": "She met Ned when he was looking anyway. . . . And he took to her, he liked her crooked straightness from the start.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be attracted to."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_to-en-verb-XJzFUyDs",
      "links": [
        [
          "attract",
          "attract"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, of persons) To be attracted to."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of persons"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-take to.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c4/En-au-take_to.ogg/En-au-take_to.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/En-au-take_to.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take to"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs with particle (to)",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "like a duck takes to water"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes to",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking to",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took to",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken to",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> to"
      },
      "expansion": "take to (third-person singular simple present takes to, present participle taking to, simple past took to, past participle taken to)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "take something to"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Although he had never skated before, he took to it quickly, and soon glided around the ice with ease.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "She took to swimming like a fish.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1941 September, O. S. Nock, “The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley: Part V”, in Railway Magazine, page 396",
          "text": "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; [...].",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To adapt to; to learn, grasp or master."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "adapt",
          "adapt"
        ],
        [
          "learn",
          "learn"
        ],
        [
          "grasp",
          "grasp"
        ],
        [
          "master",
          "master"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To adapt to; to learn, grasp or master."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "As the train rushed through, thousands of birds took to the air at once.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To enter; to go into or move towards."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "enter",
          "enter"
        ],
        [
          "go",
          "go"
        ],
        [
          "into",
          "into"
        ],
        [
          "move",
          "move"
        ],
        [
          "towards",
          "towards"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To enter; to go into or move towards."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "After the third one was rejected, she took to asking the department to check the form before she submitted it.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1865, Lewis Caroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (poem:You Are Old, Father William)",
          "text": "\"In my youth,\" said his father, \"I took to the law, And argued each case with my wife\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 July 27, Sir Michael Holden, “In praise of Crossrail 1... and in search of Crossrail 2”, in RAIL, number 962, page 34",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To begin, as a new habit or practice."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "begin",
          "begin"
        ],
        [
          "habit",
          "habit"
        ],
        [
          "practice",
          "practice"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To begin, as a new habit or practice."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2002 December 22, Kerry Hardie, “First Chapter: A Winter Marriage”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-06-09",
          "text": "She met Ned when he was looking anyway. . . . And he took to her, he liked her crooked straightness from the start.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be attracted to."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "attract",
          "attract"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, of persons) To be attracted to."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of persons"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-take to.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c4/En-au-take_to.ogg/En-au-take_to.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/En-au-take_to.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take to"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.