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.
It’s not unprecedented for struggling companies to latch onto the hot trend of the moment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
“But if that shock continues, they will latch onto it. They will follow those trends and typically, they’re going to do much better than anyone else in these environments.”
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
"The Fc fragment works as an anchor that microglia latch onto when they are near plaques, as a consequence of which these cells are reprogrammed to clear plaques more efficiently."
From Science Daily • Mar. 17, 2026
Like the most treacherous toadies from literature — Iago, Wormtongue, Tywin Lannister — Miller managed to shove aside rivals to latch onto his master’s ear and guide him toward more evil.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026
“I am telling you,” Addie informs me as quick as she can latch onto my arm after I enter the school premises, “it’s Ms. Wyman.”
From "The Misfits" by James Howe
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.
