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Synonyms

latch on

British  

verb

  1. to attach oneself (to)

    to latch on to a new acquaintance

  2. to understand

    he suddenly latched on to what they were up to

  3. to obtain; get

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

By selling to China the vehicles, factories and infrastructure that the Asian giant needed to supply the world with cheap consumer goods, Germany could latch on to the the country’s supercharged growth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

Son should have had another assist, pulling it back from the touchline to Bouanga, who this time could not latch on to the opportunity.

From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026

Nathan Collins pulled back Bryan Mbeumo as he was about to latch on to a pass.

From BBC • Jan. 13, 2026

On Thursday, investors found something to latch on to — and many apparently didn’t like what they saw.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 6, 2025

Calm, Magdalys thought, trying to latch on to the mighty dino’s mind.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older

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.