Definition of "catch on"

catch on

verb
third-person singular simple present catches on, present participle catching on, simple past and past participle caught on
1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To begin to understand; to realize.
2. (intransitive, idiomatic) To become popular; to become commonplace; to become the standard.
3. (intransitive, New England, dated, of food) To become stuck to the cooking vessel; to brown or burn slightly.
  Quotations
  They waited for the pot roast to "catch on," sticking to the pot just enough to brown
  2011, Mark Gaier, Clark Frasier, Rachel Forrest, Ron Manville, Maine Classics: More than 150 Delicious Recipes from Down East, Philadelphia: Running Press, page 172