catch on

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

to become popular, widely adopted, or generally understood, spreading through a population or culture as people discover, embrace, and promote something new; the phrase describes the moment at which an idea, fashion, technology, or practice crosses the threshold from being obscure or marginal to becoming mainstream, gathering momentum through social adoption processes in which each new adherent makes the next one more likely; it can also mean to understand or grasp something after a period of confusion, as when a student finally catches on to a difficult concept after repeated exposure and explanation