cotton on
Britishverb
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to perceive the meaning (of)
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to make use (of)
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.
The precocious girls soon cotton on to the headmistress’s ruse and parry her appeals to dish on Miss Brodie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
During the summer, the growers agree not to plant crops like wheat or cotton on some fields, and receive compensation while continuing to grow more lucrative vegetable crops in other seasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2023
Yet based on the limited quantities of organic seed in circulation, industry insiders say the amount of organic cotton on the market today is impossible.
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2022
Every few months, Google would cotton on to the group’s tactics and begin blocking its messages.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2018
Irene and I called it summer snow, and sometimes we’d squint into the dry glare and try to catch cotton on our tongues.
From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth
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.
