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
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While some cause serious, potentially life-threatening illness, others aren’t harmful, and people don’t always realize they’re infected.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
18 Aug. 2025 -
Her partner didn’t realize something was wrong until the following Saturday, when the two would normally spend the weekend together, Richard Owen said.—
Susannah Cullinane,
CNN Money,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Darcy Miller, known on TikTok as @darcycass, received an urgent call shortly after selling her couch on Facebook Marketplace from the buyer.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Aug. 2025
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Mass Ave resident Jeff Stroebel knows in this day and age people are always on their phones.—
Alysa Guffey,
IndyStar,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This redirected suspicions to Johnny’s wife Chanel, who was recorded threatening EJ shortly before the incident occurred — that is, until the video was discovered to be a deepfake, at which point Johnny fired EJ as his lawyer and decided to represent himself.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
19 Aug. 2025
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First discovered: 8:07 a.m. Aug. 19 Initial location: Orange County, Calif. Fire type: Wildfire Fire name: Lambert A new wildfire was reported today at 8:07 a.m. in Orange County, California.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Trained to understand player context and urgency, these systems ensure that the support is fast, relevant and empathetic.—
Anees Ali Khan,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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To better understand how microbes interact with the human body, scientists use cutting-edge tools such as gnotobiotic mouse models, metabolomics, and quantitative imaging — uncovering pathways that could inform future treatments and improve human health.—
David L. Coddon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Try to test the performance of your AI tool against a manual task to see the difference in time spent, performance and quality of output.—
Zoe Lu,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
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Wagner never expected that the restaurant would see this amount of water damage.—
Rachel Bernhard,
jsonline.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The article includes a fancy-looking formula central to the algorithm, but the formula is nearly impossible to decipher since the authors didn’t bother to explain half the symbols in it.—
Noah Giansiracusa,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
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We’re left to decipher the difference between fact and fiction.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Frontier Fiber Frontier is recognized for its budget-friendly fiber internet plans in Los Angeles.—
Roxanne Downer,
USA Today,
20 Aug. 2025
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Where this will end is impossible to know, other than to recognize that no one else knows the answer for certain.—
Erik Sherman,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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As the truck drives away, three apparent gunshots can be heard in the videos and one video shows what seems to be bullet holes in the side of the truck.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
18 Aug. 2025
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Other anglers heard the man shouting for help and called 911 on Friday, Aug. 15, Girdwood Fire & Rescue said in a news release.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
18 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Catch on (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catch%20on%20%28to%29. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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