latch onto
Idioms-
Also, latch on to.
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Get hold of, grasp; also, understand, grasp mentally. For example, They latched onto a fortune in the fur trade , or Carol quickly latched on to how the sewing machine works . [c. 1930]
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Attach oneself to, join in with, as in Rob didn't know the way so he latched on to one of the older children . [c. 1930]
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.
When ACU193+ oligomers latch onto astrocytes, they may spark a cascade of inflammation that spreads throughout the brain, long before memory loss begins.
From Science Daily
These teeth retract and flex more than the average canine, enabling the fish to latch onto a mate while swimming.
From Science Daily
A minuscule parasitic worm capable of springing into the air up to 25 times its own body length can latch onto flying insects with the help of static electricity, according to new research.
From Science Daily
Allen is particularly adept at having “late hands,” waiting until the last possible moment to reach up and latch onto the football, rather than giving the defender ample time beforehand to prepare for the incoming pass.
From Los Angeles Times
I love my life here, and I want that enthusiasm to be something that other people can find and harness and latch onto for their own lives here; for people to say, “I know my state senator. I know she’s looking out for my interest because she showed up and knocked on my door, and we had a conversation.”
From Salon
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.
