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catch on

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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WOTD – 30 May 2026

Etymology

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From catch (verb) + on (preposition).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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catch on (third-person singular simple present catches on, present participle catching on, simple past and past participle caught on) (idiomatic)

  1. (transitive (reflexive), Ireland (especially Northern Ireland), informal) Chiefly in the form catch oneself on: to cause (oneself) to get or regain a proper appreciation of a situation; to behave in the expected, sensible way; to stop fooling around or being silly.
    • 2011, Colin Neill, “Behind Every Man …”, in Turas: A Story of Strangers in a Strange Land, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicester: Matador, Troubador Publishing, →ISBN, page 68:
      Big Pat's still wearing his hair like two floppy ears on a dog. He's amazing: wouldn't you think his wife or someone would tell him to catch himself on.
  2. (intransitive)
    1. Chiefly followed by to: to cling or hold on to something; to get stuck on something; to take hold.
      • 1868, Oliver Optic [pseudonym; William Taylor Adams], “An Inductive Argument”, in Freaks of Fortune; or, Half Round the World, Boston, Mass.: Lee and Shepard, →OCLC, page 56:
        Every other man in town might have walked over that plank, and it wouldn't gin away. I walked over that plank last night, and airly this morning. I see, when I stepped on to it, that somebody had been a movin' on it; but I didn't know the 'tother eend was only just ketched on to the rock.
        A pronunciation spelling to represent the speaker’s pronunciation.
      • 1912 October – 1914 May 29 (date written; published 1915 September 24), Joseph Conrad, Victory, New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library, published 1921, →OCLC, part II, page 89:
        He meant to drift altogether and literally, body and soul, like a detached leaf drifting in the wind-currents under the immovable trees of a forest glade; to drift without ever catching on to anything.
      • 1960, Nicholas Polunin, “Dispersal and Migration: Aids and Barriers”, in Introduction to Plant Geography and Some Related Sciences, New York, N.Y.; London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, →OCLC, page 112:
        For ectozoic dispersal the disseminule is commonly adhesive by means of a sticky surface or, more often, by its possession of hooks or other devices by which it catches on to the fur etc. Anyone who has tried to extract the fruits of Burdocks (Arctium spp.) or Beggar-ticks (Bides spp.) from woolly garments will be aware of the effectiveness of such adhesion.
      1. (New England, cooking, dated) Of food being cooked: to become stuck to the cooking vessel and brown or burn slightly.
        • 2011, Mark Gaier, Clark Frasier, with Rachel Forrest, “The Farm [Classic Yankee Pot Roast]”, in Maine Classics: More than 150 Delicious Recipes from Down East, Philadelphia, Pa.: Running Press, →ISBN, page 172:
          When we stand by the fireplace at Arrows, it's not hard to imagine the ancestor of our farm standing around an iron pot and tending the well-kept fire, taking in the aromas of cooking that filled the room. They waited for the pot roast to "catch on," sticking to the pot just enough to brown, giving the gravy a richness and a savory flavor that coats the lips.
    2. Of an idea, a thing, etc.: to become fashionable or popular; also, to become established as standard; to become commonplace.
      Antonyms: go out of fashion, go the way of the dinosaurs
      It’s a crummy idea, and I certainly hope it doesn’t catch on.
      At first, many people didn’t like that kind of music, but after a while it caught on.
      • 1921, W[alter] F[ardinando] Grew, “The Cycle Boom”, in The Cycle Industry: Its Origin, History and Latest Developments (Pitman’s Common Commodities and Industries), London; Bath, Somerset: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, […], →OCLC, page 74:
        Various opinions have been expressed as to the reason why American bicycles did not attract popular favour in this country. They were largely advertised, important firms rented expensive shops for retail purposes, and at one time it looked as though the American bicycle would catch on. The attempted invasion failed; a small army reached our shores but it got swallowed up and the officers retired with discomfiture.
      • 1997 August 9, Edward Rothstein, “A comeback for the viola. No joking.”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 February 2021:
        But those who attack violists shouldn't throw resin. Once the ergonomic viola catches on what instrument will be immune?
    3. Followed by to: to recognize the potential of something; also, to take advantage of or use something (especially an idea, a trend, etc.).
    4. (originally US, informal) Chiefly followed by to: to (begin to) understand; to realize.
      Synonyms: cotton on, glom on
      He didn’t have to explain; I caught on right away.
      She’s been catching on pretty well.
      • 2010, Wayne Mertens, Days of Malice, [Scotts Valley, Calif.]: [CreateSpace], →ISBN, page 326:
        Mike had caught on straight away that his friend was playing for time.
      • 2026 June 12, Emily Ratajkowski, “Mother F*cker”, in The Cut‎[2]:
        I could tell that Elder Millennial had started to catch on, at least a little bit, to the dead-eyed supervillain I’d been playing all along.

Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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