catching on (to)

verb

present participle of catch on (to)
1
as in realizing
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 knowing
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 catching on (to)
  1. realizing
  2. knowing
  3. discovering
  4. understanding
  5. seeing
  6. deciphering
  7. hearing
  8. recognizing
Verb
  • The juror slipped through without a single flashbulb going off, without a single paparazzo glancing or realizing this person might be someone worth photographing.
    — Luke Jones, Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Teachers and school staff can also steer students away from hard tasks, often without realizing it.
    — Deldhy Nicolás Moya Sánchez, The Conversation, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of realizing
Verb
  • That was despite knowing Mendoza would eventually replace Cousins, which occurred Tuesday when the 15-year veteran was traded to the Minnesota Vikings.
    — Mark Anderson, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Mowing correctly in fall entails knowing when to make the final cut and how high the grass should be left to stand for winter.
    — David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of knowing
Verb
  • Let people respond to the person in front of them, and give yourself room to keep discovering who that is.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 13 Nov. 2026
  • That would be awful to listen to, and the joy of facts is in discovering them and passing them on.
    — Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of discovering
Verb
  • The model provides a baseline for understanding what a planet’s atmosphere might look like without life.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The key is understanding your audience’s habits, wants and needs, then communicating with them in the right places.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of understanding
Verb
  • View gallery - 3 images Imagine having a conversation and seeing the other person's lips move, but hearing the sound coming from their feet.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Nov. 2026
  • Lisbeth’s attempt to win over the team gets complicated when the girls start seeing visions of Grace, which often compel them to loudly repent their sins.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of seeing
Verb
  • Bahdanau was working with artificial neural networks, which had already shown promise in pattern-recognition tasks such as deciphering handwriting and identifying objects in photos.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
  • In addition to developing better medicines or perfumes, deciphering the mirror images of molecules can help scientists understand the chemical architecture of life, said chemist Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the journal Science.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of deciphering
Verb
  • Residents on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz reported hearing several explosions late on Sunday evening, Iranian state media reported.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Nov. 2026
  • That delay might be explained, as Skepta has suggested in interviews, by the pursuit of perfection—or the weight of having to say something worth hearing.
    — Will Pritchard, Pitchfork, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of hearing
Verb
  • The medal presentation marks a notable development in the controversy surrounding Hegseth's Veterans Day visit, with the defense secretary publicly recognizing the soldier whose intervention attracted widespread attention.
    — Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The Department of Defense had a particularly productive partnership with USAID, recognizing that foreign aid could be as important as force in incentivizing insurgents to make peace.
    — Andrew Natsios, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of recognizing
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.

Browse Nearby Words

catching one's eye
catching on (to)
catching up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Catching on (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catching%20on%20%28to%29. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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