take something to

Verb

take something to (third-person singular simple present takes something to, present participle taking something to, simple past took something to, past participle taken something to)

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, Albert J. Reiss, The Police and the Public, page 44
   • The last guy to take a mower to this place must have been General MacArthur. It was as bad as any course in the U.S., yet it cost $100 to play on Saturdays. Doesn't matter. The golfers started lining up at two in the morning.1996, Sports Illustrated Editors, Golf, →ISBN
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
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see take.
   • Let's take the presents to the community center.
   • And this from the bloke who took a phone to dinner in case we broke down on the way from the bedrooms to the dining room.2012 February 17, Clare Revell, After the Fire, Pelican Ventures Book Group, →ISBN