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.
One expert doubts that new ETFs from Subversive will catch on in a meaningful way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
It's a sweltering summer's day and fishermen are unloading their catch on the docks.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Investors will look for visibility into further big gains for Nvidia even as new types of chips catch on more with customers.
From MarketWatch ● May 17, 2026
A hawthorn is a shrub, often used in hedges, whose sharp thorns catch on intruders’ clothes or skin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
It was made of wood, and like everything else in Morris’s path that was made of wood, it would catch on fire.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
