take to

verb4

1. •
   To enter; to go into or move towards.

   • As the train rushed through, thousands of birds took to the air at once.
   • When I felt sleepy I took to my bed.
2. •
   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.
3. •
   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. •
   To be attracted to.

   • She met Ned when he was looking anyway. . . . And he took to her, he liked her crooked straightness from the start. — 2002

verb3

1. •
   To apply (some instrument or implement) to (something else, to undertake a task or attack upon it, usually vigorously).

   • A lot of officers when they knock off a still will take an axe to the barrels. — 1973
2. •
   To experience application of (some instrument or implement).

   • I used to do field lexicography, but then I took an arrow to the knee on North Sentinel Island.
3. •
   To suffer (an injury or detriment) to person or property.

   • Twitter took a major blow to its reputation