Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

catch on

UK /kæt͡ʃ ˈɒn/ · US /kɛt͡ʃ ˈɑn/ verb

Forms catches on catching on caught on

  1. verb (transitive (reflexive), Ireland (especially Northern Ireland), informal) Chiefly in the form catch oneself on: to cause (oneself) to get or regain a proper appreciation of a situation; to behave in the expected, sensible way; to stop fooling around or being silly.
  2. verb Chiefly followed by to: to cling or hold on to something; to get stuck on something; to take hold.
  3. verb (New England, cooking, dated) Of food being cooked: to become stuck to the cooking vessel and brown or burn slightly.
  4. verb Of an idea, a thing, etc.: to become fashionable or popular; also, to become established as standard; to become commonplace. “It’s a crummy idea, and I certainly hope it doesn’t catch on.”
  5. verb Followed by to: to recognize the potential of something; also, to take advantage of or use something (especially an idea, a trend, etc.).
  6. verb (originally US, informal) Chiefly followed by to: to (begin to) understand; to realize. “He didn’t have to explain; I caught on right away.”

Synonyms

cotton on glom on get wise get onto tumble latch on twig get it

Antonyms

go out of fashion go the way of the dinosaurs

Etymology

From catch (verb) + on (preposition).

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “catch on”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details