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)
Verb
-
It was driven by millions of individual decisions — families and business owners realizing that a solar panel is a declaration of independence from a volatile grid, and even more volatile global prices.—
Jennifer Granholm,
semafor.com,
30 Apr. 2026 -
But despite the widespread adoption of this technology, not every company is realizing bottom-line improvement commensurate with its capabilities.—
Gene Rapoport,
Harvard Business Review,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Watching the trajectory of the baseball and knowing Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill’s ability to rob would-be homers — plus the uncertainty of how well balls fly during night games at Petco Park — Crow-Armstrong figured Merrill would come down with the baseball.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
And there’s judgment — knowing when to act, when to wait, and what action actually fits the situation.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Tong was in possession of multiple bags, which officers later searched through after obtaining a search warrant, discovering several bottles containing substances commonly used in the manufacture of meth, according to the outlet.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2026
-
The incident led to city officials discovering that the fire hydrant pressure had not been tested in over 10 years despite industry standards suggesting they be tested every five years, Pernerewski said at the time.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
The lack of physical evidence presents significant challenges for the field of paleontology in understanding species diversification at specific times and places on Earth.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
3 May 2026
-
In practice, this looks like a provider not only asking about symptoms, but understanding context.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
The study creates new criteria for deciphering old dice and allows archaeologists to further explore how games have evolved over time, researchers say.—
Taylor Nicioli,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The clicks are part of a growing sperm whale phonetic alphabet that researchers at CETI are deciphering.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The one big missing piece was seeing her team finally capture an elusive state championship.—
Buddy Collings,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Mario Tama / Getty Images file In a report whose data was largely compiled before the recent run-up, Bank of America analysts found that so far, only lower-income households were seeing a significant impact on their budgets from higher gas prices.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The reshaping of the hospital’s campus seeks to strike a balance among lifting the hospital’s national profile, providing more efficiently for the health care needs of the local community and recognizing the reality of an aging population that needs increasingly sophisticated care.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The Timberwolves gathered around DiVincenzo, recognizing the potential seriousness of his injury.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Watch the video above to see a boy’s powerful reaction to finally hearing clearly.—
Ronnie Li,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Hutson and Brown are scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing Thursday.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
29 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
“Catching on (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catching%20on%20%28to%29. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
