cotton on

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

cotton on (third-person singular simple present cottons on, present participle cottoning on, simple past and past participle cottoned on)

1. (intransitive) To realize; come to understand.

   Synonym: glom on

   • 2019 July 30, Rowena Mason, “Dominic Cummings said Tory MPs do not care about poor people or NHS”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     “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.”

Related terms

• cotton to
• cotton on to

Further reading

• Michael Quinion (1996–2024) “Cotton on”, in World Wide Words.