latch on
phrasal verb
latched on; latching on; latches on
British, informal
: to begin to understand something
What he was saying was complicated, so it took me a while to latch on.
Examples of latch on in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Texas latched on to the buoy idea after hiring former Border Patrol agent Mike Banks to be the state’s border czar.
—
Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 16 Apr. 2025
After spending time in Ottawa’s organization and playing seven games with the Senators, Larsson latched on in Switzerland’s National League with SC Rapperswil-Jona.
—The Athletic Nhl Staff, New York Times, 21 June 2025
In these marine habitats where sunlight can’t reach, gas escapes through cracks in the seafloor and feeds bacteria that latch on to the spiders’ exoskeletons.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 21 June 2025
To cut into the quantum realm and abandon Penrose’s energy assumption, Wall latched on to a theoretical discovery made in the 1970s by Jacob Bekenstein.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for latch on
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Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 16 Apr. 2025
After spending time in Ottawa’s organization and playing seven games with the Senators, Larsson latched on in Switzerland’s National League with SC Rapperswil-Jona.
—The Athletic Nhl Staff, New York Times, 21 June 2025
In these marine habitats where sunlight can’t reach, gas escapes through cracks in the seafloor and feeds bacteria that latch on to the spiders’ exoskeletons.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 21 June 2025
To cut into the quantum realm and abandon Penrose’s energy assumption, Wall latched on to a theoretical discovery made in the 1970s by Jacob Bekenstein.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for latch on
Cite this Entry
“Latch on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/latch%20on. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
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