1
as in realizes
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 knows
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 catches on (to)
Verb
-
As Firecracker realizes during a marketing brainstorm with VP Ashley Barrett, Oh Father, Vought producer Courtenay Fortney, and the Worm, the basic values of Jesus Christ don’t sell anymore.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
22 Apr. 2026 -
Upon finding an obscure Latin translation of Howard’s in Nancy’s notebook, Mary realizes the two were having an affair before her death and confronts Howard, who vehemently denies any involvement with Nancy.—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Hundreds of miles away from Patriots headquarters, a franchise legend who knows Jacas well gave his stamp of approval.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Farley knows firsthand the capability of the Chinese car industry.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In the final cut, Mabel accidentally stumbles upon research being done by her biology professor (Kathy Najimy), discovers the technology, and hijacks a robot beaver.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The sequel dives further into the curse as a new generation of Owens women discovers the secret of their family history.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And editing, as anyone with taste understands, is where elegance lives.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Kansas City Star,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Deadline understands that project is still in development.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His award recognizes his contributions to settle several questions in differential geometry that had puzzled mathematicians since the 1970s and 1980s.—
Chase Hunter,
Mercury News,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Because the Vertigo is something everybody who lives here recognizes as central to a sort of framework of Los Angeles.—
Julissa James,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Apple sees its second leadership change since Steve Jobs, with CEO Tim Cook set to be succeeded by John Ternus to lead the world’s second most valuable company.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Practical Magic 2 sees the lives of sisters Sally Owens (Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Kidman) shaken up when a mysterious figure (Lee Pace) arrives in their quaint New England town with a new quest for them.—
Tommy McArdle,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Qualcomm’s chip can run Linux, along with Arduino software, and can even do computer vision, which deciphers what a camera sees and translates it into software.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
7 Oct. 2025
-
With that base knowledge and his opponent’s game tape, Nolan analyzes wide receiver alignments and deciphers the offense's attack.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The brain constantly updates this self-representation in response to what a person sees, feels and hears.—
Utkarsh Gupta,
Scientific American,
15 Apr. 2026
-
One of the most common fears Shapiro hears about is job displacement and expendability.—
Bob Violino,
CNBC,
15 Apr. 2026
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
“Catches on (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catches%20on%20%28to%29. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
