1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

caught on (to)

verb

past tense of catch on (to)
1
as in realized
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 understood
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 caught on (to)
  1. realized
  2. understood
  3. discovered
  4. knew
  5. heard
  6. recognized
  7. learned
  8. deciphered
Verb
  • One example of this at Merrell was when the company realized the pace of the marketplace was rapidly changing around consumer engagement, so the team built an in-house agency team to respond in real time.
    — Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • George Marciniw Moreno, 38, was born in Orange County, graduated from Chapman University in 2010, and realized her dream of working in news.
    — Brittney Ermon, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of realized
Verb
  • Being understood may feel surprisingly different from being agreed with, and possibly much more useful.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • But board books are understood more clearly to be for a younger audience, often one that can’t read themselves.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of understood
Verb
  • The animals were discovered on Friday in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, home to pastoral tribal communities that raise cattle.
    — Kristin Wright, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The group discovered early just how much responsibility for the community’s parks, landscaping and common areas rested with private organizations.
    — Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of discovered
Verb
  • His daughter, Rashan Ali, said many people knew her father through football, but his influence extended well beyond the field.
    — Jamal Goss, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Phillip and Makenzie choreographed the sequence using yarn so the dancers knew where each laser would be.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of knew
Verb
  • Smoke rose over the site after the blast, which witnesses and residents said was heard far away, followed by gunfire.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
  • International travelers, for the most part, have likely never heard its name.
    — Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of heard
Verb
  • Scott Keever is an entrepreneur, internationally recognized SEO expert, online reputation mastermind and Founder of Reputation Pros.
    — Scott Keever, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • There is a lineup of countries waiting to get in, with nine countries currently recognized as candidates for EU membership.
    — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of recognized
Verb
  • Today, that room looks across UC Davis experimental fields — and toward the small airport where the home’s current owner, Elizabeth Thigpen, learned to fly as a teenager.
    — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • These fans haven’t learned that in this city, there’s three ways to spell Loser.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of learned
Verb
  • Uncertainty notwithstanding, the longevity world has glommed onto the notion that the vaginal microbiome is some kind of exotic tealeaf that can be deciphered—and perfected by purchasing the right supplements.
    — Sarah DiGregorio, Vanity Fair, 27 July 2026
  • Its successor script, Linea B, was also a mystery until it was deciphered in 1952 by an amateur linguist and cryptographer Michael Ventris with the help of classicist John Chadwick, both building on patterns in the script first identified by classicist Alice Kober.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 23 June 2026
Definition of deciphered
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

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

Cite this Entry

“Caught on (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caught%20on%20%28to%29. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All