1
as in to realize
to come to an awareness of
she caught on to the fact that they were planning a surprise party
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to know
to have a clear idea of
he finally caught on to the concept of phototaxis
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catch on (to)
Verb
-
The memo also contains a link to about 11 hours of footage of Epstein in his cell released as proof of his suicide—which quickly faced more scrutiny after viewers realized about a minute of footage was missing.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025 -
Anyone could be forgiven for not realizing this week’s slasher thriller, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze, Jr., is a brand-new movie, not a revival of the 1997 box-office hit which launched those two as stars and had exactly the same memorable title.—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
13 July 2025
Verb
-
That gap can cause marketing to keep optimizing based on CPC or CPL without knowing which leads actually move forward in the funnel.—
Ron Browning,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
-
Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
7 July 2025
Verb
-
Leave behind New York’s stifling policies and discover a state where your ambition can soar.—
Mike Dunleavy,
New York Daily News,
14 July 2025
-
The observatory will also discover millions of new asteroids and comets, improving our understanding of the solar system and helping with planetary defense.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 July 2025
Verb
-
Captain Pike, who was a straightforward and fairly dull square-jawed hero type in the original Star Trek pilot, has been reinvented by the writers and Anson Mount as a superhumanly empathetic leader who solves problems by trying to understand both his enemies and his allies.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
15 July 2025
-
At first, the dog opened her eyes and then instantly started to sniff the air to understand what was going on.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 July 2025
Verb
-
According to statements from camp officials and survivors, Eastland was last seen leading a group of girls from a cabin trying to get them to safety.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
8 July 2025
-
Chicago O’Hare, one of the world’s busiest airports, saw nearly 114,000 passengers, also a record.—
Frank Holmes,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
Verb
-
Imagine walking into your doctor’s office feeling sick – and rather than flipping through pages of your medical history or running tests that take days, your doctor instantly pulls together data from your health records, genetic profile and wearable devices to help decipher what’s wrong.—
Turgay Ayer,
The Conversation,
11 July 2025
-
Throughout the 20th century, as ruins plunder shifted to protecting the cliff dwellings, archaeologists tried to decipher the remnants and make amends with the descendants, while understanding the ancient situation that prompted this mass migration.—
Mike Bezemek,
Smithsonian Magazine,
10 July 2025
Verb
-
Their work has been recognized at leading festivals and programs including Sundance, TIFF, Tribeca and SXSW.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
14 July 2025
-
According to reports in the Ukrainian press, the A.I. had been trained to recognize targets using images of old Soviet warplanes on display in an aviation museum east of Kyiv.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
Verb
-
It's been 100 years, and echoes of the controversial Scopes Monkey Trial, which pitted modern science against creationism, can still be heard around the world and seen in Dayton, TN, the heart of the trial.—
Laura L. Davis,
The Tennessean,
13 July 2025
-
But customers still want to feel heard and understood.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 July 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Catch on (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catch%20on%20%28to%29. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share