capture
Americanverb (used with object)
-
captures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
captured,
past participle, past
-
capturing
present participle
-
to take by force or stratagem; take prisoner; seize.
The police captured the burglar.
- Antonyms:
- release
-
to gain control of or exert influence over.
an ad that captured our attention;
a TV show that captured 30% of the prime-time audience.
-
to take possession of, as in a game or contest.
to capture a pawn in chess.
-
to represent or record in lasting form.
The movie succeeded in capturing the atmosphere of Berlin in the 1930s.
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Computers.
-
to enter (data) into a computer for processing or storage.
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to record (data) in preparation for such entry.
-
noun
-
captures
plural
-
the act of capturing.
- Synonyms:
- apprehension, arrest, seizure
- Antonyms:
- release
-
the thing or person captured.
-
Physics. the process in which an atomic or nuclear system acquires an additional particle.
-
Crystallography. substitution in a crystal lattice of a trace element for an element of lower valence.
verb
-
to take prisoner or gain control over
to capture an enemy
to capture a town
-
(in a game or contest) to win control or possession of
to capture a pawn in chess
-
to succeed in representing or describing (something elusive)
the artist captured her likeness
-
physics (of an atom, molecule, ion, or nucleus) to acquire (an additional particle)
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to insert or transfer (data) into a computer
noun
-
the act of taking by force; seizure
-
the person or thing captured; booty
-
physics a process by which an atom, molecule, ion, or nucleus acquires an additional particle
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Also called: piracy. geography the process by which the headwaters of one river are diverted into another through erosion caused by the second river's tributaries
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the act or process of inserting or transferring data into a computer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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capturesimple
-
capturessimple
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have capturedperfect
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has capturedperfect
-
am capturingprogressive
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are capturingprogressive
-
is capturingprogressive
-
have been capturingperfect progressive
-
has been capturingperfect progressive
Past
-
capturedsimple
-
had capturedperfect
-
was capturingprogressive
-
were capturingprogressive
-
had been capturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of capture
First recorded in 1535–45; from Middle French, from Latin captūra, equivalent to capt(us) “taken” (past participle of capere “to take”) + -ūra -ure
Explanation
The verb to capture means to grab, trap, or take something that doesn't want to be grabbed, trapped, or taken. Hunters, pirates, and kidnappers all capture the things they want. If you want that tiger, you're going to have to capture him, either by setting a trap or shooting him. Either way, his capture won't be easy. You can also capture a photograph of something — which, while it doesn't mean taking it against its will, is still a kind of taking in which the thing itself is not participating. The pirate captured his hostages, while his hostages captured the scene on their cell-phone video cameras.
Vocabulary lists containing capture
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 1
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Words Every Pirate Should Know
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The New SAT: The Language of the Test
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Premeditated” is supposed to capture a decision made with time to reflect.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
The arrests come just days before the fifth anniversary of the Taliban's return to power, following the capture of Kabul on August 15, 2021.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Jackie’s rise to reality stardom began after Friends of Big Bear Valley installed a webcam in 2015 to capture the goings-on of her parents’ nest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Two additional live feeds will come from other locations inside the path of totality, improving the chances that the broadcast will capture clear, high-quality views of the eclipse.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Recognizing Bobby’s greater need for money than the capture of a title, however prestigious, Bisguier noted: “Evidently, his mature judgment is not solely confined to the chessboard.”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
A new live album, recorded in London in 1976, captures how the singer and the Wailers’ magnetic stage presence helped catapult them to new levels of fame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Houston’s estate worked closely with Mattel to create a doll that captures the late singer’s essence and glamour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
The Chile-based observatory debuted last June and captures exceptionally detailed views of the sky with the world's largest digital camera.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
Damon’s Odysseus captures all the heroic arrogance, bravery and selfish stupidity of an action-flick brawler who would shoot a giant cyclops in the eye as he’s making his escape, just because.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
The term chronic pain captures nothing of the grinding, constant, ceaseless, inescapable hurt.
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
A family captured video of the moment they fled their home during an earthquake in Colombia.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Editing is traditionally a solitary art form, its practitioners working after shooting has wrapped to assemble the story from the captured footage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
It is unclear whether there has been an undeniable “song of the summer,” despite the chart strength of Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” and no scripted television show has captured universal attention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Neither shooting was captured on an officer’s body camera.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
In 1944, he was captured by the Gestapo, but he escaped prison, thanks to his metalworking experience, which taught him how to make keys.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Instead they take still images of vehicles, capturing the make, model, color, license plate data and other distinguishing features such as bumper stickers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
In the days since he charged a Los Angeles police officer with a crime for capturing evidence of his co-workers’ racist remarks, Los Angeles County Dist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Sussex said until he looked up and saw the small screen capturing him - he had no idea he was performing on behalf of the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Rather than capturing only a few isolated moments, astronomers were able to follow the system as it moved through several different stages of activity.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
When the battle was over, the British had succeeded in capturing just 1,200 yards of ground and what was now the ghost village of Neuve-Chapelle, while suffering more than 11,000 casualties.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
