What does "cotton on" mean?

To understand or realize British term for grasping the meaning of something.

How do you use "cotton on" in a sentence?

She finally cottoned on to what I meant. It took him ages to cotton on. Have you cottoned on yet?

Phrasal Verb BritishAustralian ★★★☆☆ Moderate informal

Meaning: To understand or realize

理解、意识到

Entender o darse cuenta

理解する、気づく

이해하다, 알아차리다

British term for grasping the meaning of something.

英国用语，表示领会某事的含义。

Término británico para captar el significado de algo.

何かの意味をつかむイギリスの表現。

무언가의 의미를 파악하는 영국식 표현.

Base verb: cotton

Particle: on

Separable: No — the verb and particle stay together

She finally cottoned on to what I meant.
她终于明白我的意思了
Por fin pilló lo que quería decir
彼女はやっと私の言いたいことがわかった
그녀는 마침내 내 말뜻을 알아챘다
It took him ages to cotton on.
他花了很长时间才明白
Le costó siglos pillarlo
彼が理解するのにとても時間がかかった
그가 이해하는 데 한참 걸렸다
Have you cottoned on yet?
你明白了吗？
¿Ya lo has pillado?
もうわかった？
이제 알겠어?

Context: realization, understanding, comprehension

Tone: casual

From cotton sticking or clinging to something.

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal