cotton on

present singular third person cottons on · participle present cottoning on · participle past cottoned on · past cottoned on

1. intransitiveTo realize; come to understand.

   In the late aughts, a number of entrepreneurs cottoned on to the idea of reducing emissions by producing fake meat that carnivores could love.

   2023 July 9, Annie Lowrey, “Open Your Mind to Unicorn Meat”, in The Atlantic

   1 more example

   “That is what most people in the country have thought about the Tory party for decades. […] Tory MPs largely do not care about these poorer people. They don’t care about the NHS. And the public has kind of cottoned on to that.”

   2019 July 30, Rowena Mason, “Dominic Cummings said Tory MPs do not care about poor people or NHS”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: catch on, glom on