catch on
Britishverb
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to become popular or fashionable
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to grasp mentally; understand
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Understand, as in Aunt Mary doesn't catch on to any jokes . The verb to catch alone was used with this meaning from Shakespeare's time, on being added in the late 1800s. Also see get it , def. 2.
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Become popular, as in This new dance is really beginning to catch on . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Eventually even people around Clark Kent have to catch on: This guy might not walk around like he’s a superhero, but he is one.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026
But even if these other applications catch on, Saluzzi said, there is no reason to expect their adoption would be a boon for bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026
A year after the name change and pivot, the Journal reported that the company’s flagship metaverse product, called Horizon Worlds, was failing to catch on with users.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
Then there’s the possibility that quantum computers don’t catch on, as their capabilities haven’t advanced enough to justify large-scale spending on the technology.
From Barron's • Jan. 13, 2026
He may have been able to work a camera, but he was slow to catch on to our request.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
