take to

take to idiom
  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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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