cotton on
Third Person
cottons on
Present Participle
cottoning on
Past Tense
cottoned on
Past Participle
cottoned on
1
to manage to understand something, typically following an initial period of challenge or difficulty
- It took a while, but eventually, she cottoned on to the new software and started using it efficiently.
- The students quickly cottoned on to the teacher's explanation of the complex scientific concept.
- After a bit of confusion, the team began to cotton on to the manager's strategic vision for the project.
- He was dropping subtle hints about the project, and it took me a moment to cotton on that he wanted my input.
- She didn't immediately understand the instructions, but after a few minutes, she finally cottoned on and completed the task.