catch on

verb catches on · catching on · caught on

1. idiomatic, informal Chiefly in the form catch oneself on: to cause (oneself) to get or regain a proper appreciation of a situation; to behave in the expected, sensible way; to stop fooling around or being silly. Big Pat's still wearing his hair like two floppy ears on a dog. He's amazing: wouldn't you think his wife or someone would tell him to catch himself on.
2. idiomatic, intransitive Chiefly followed by to: to cling or hold on to something; to get stuck on something; to take hold. Every other man in town might have walked over that plank, and it wouldn't gin away. I walked over that plank last night, and airly this morning. I see, when I stepped on to it, that somebody had been a movin' on it; but I didn't know the 'tother eend was only just ketched on to the rock.
3. New England, dated, idiomatic, intransitive Of food being cooked: to become stuck to the cooking vessel and brown or burn slightly. When we stand by the fireplace at Arrows, it's not hard to imagine the ancestor of our farm standing around an iron pot and tending the well-kept fire, taking in the aromas of cooking that filled the room. They waited for the pot roast to "catch on," sticking to the pot just enough to brown, giving
4. idiomatic, intransitive Of an idea, a thing, etc.: to become fashionable or popular; also, to become established as standard; to become commonplace. It’s a crummy idea, and I certainly hope it doesn’t catch on.

   Opposite: go out of fashion, go the way of the dinosaurs

5. idiomatic, intransitive Followed by to: to recognize the potential of something; also, to take advantage of or use something (especially an idea, a trend, etc.). The Chicago papers are quick to "catch on" to a fire sensation and make the most of it. […] The first news received in Cincinnati of the fire in the Planters' House in St. Louis Sunday morning came from Chicago.
6. idiomatic, informal, intransitive Chiefly followed by to: to (begin to) understand; to realize. He didn’t have to explain; I caught on right away.

   Similar: cotton on, glom on