Cotton On (Verb)
Meaning
Understand, usually after some initial difficulty; "She didn't know what her classmates were plotting but finally caught on".
Classification
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.
Examples
- It took the manager a while to cotton on to the scam that was going on in the company.
- At first, the kids didn't understand the game, but they quickly cottoned on and were soon laughing.
- She was trying to learn the dance routine, but it took her a few replays to cotton on to the steps.
- The police didn't realize the thief's method at first, but they eventually cottoned on and were able to catch him.
- After months of struggling to understand the new software, Sarah finally cottoned on to how it worked.