latch on


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.
Related to latch on: latch onto

latch on

vb
1. to attach oneself (to): to latch on to a new acquaintance.
2. to understand: he suddenly latched on to what they were up to.
3. US and Canadian to obtain; get
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.latch on - take hold of or attach to; "The biochip latches onto the genes"
grasp, hold on - hold firmly
2.latch on - adopt; "take up new ideas"
fasten on, hook on, seize on, take up
sweep up, embrace, espouse, adopt - take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own; "She embraced Catholicism"; "They adopted the Jewish faith"
3.latch on - understand, usually after some initial difficultylatch on - understand, usually after some initial difficulty; "She didn't know what her classmates were plotting but finally caught on"
catch on, cotton on, get it, get onto, get wise, twig, tumble
apprehend, comprehend, get the picture, grok, savvy, grasp, compass, dig - get the meaning of something; "Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

w>latch on

vi (inf)
(= get hold) → sich festhalten; (with teeth) → sich festbeißen (→ to sth an etw dat); he latched on to the idea of coming with us → er hat es sich (dat) → in den Kopf gesetzt, mitzukommen
(= attach o.s.) → sich anschließen (→ to +dat); she latched on to me at the party → sie hängte sich auf der Party an mich (inf)
(= understand) → kapieren (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007