capture

[ kap-cher ]

/ ˈkæp tʃər /

verb (used with object), cap·tured, cap·tur·ing.

to take by force or stratagem; take prisoner; seize: The police captured the burglar.

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.

Computers.

to enter (data) into a computer for processing or storage.
to record (data) in preparation for such entry.

noun

the act of capturing.

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.

Nearby words

captive audience, captive market, captivity, captopril, captor, capture, capture beat, captured rotation, capua, capuana, capuche

Origin of capture

1535–45; < Middle French < Latin captūra, equivalent to capt(us) taken (past participle of capere to take) + -ūra -ure

SYNONYMS FOR capture

1 catch, arrest, snare, apprehend, grab, nab.

6 seizure, arrest, apprehension.

ANTONYMS FOR capture

1, 6 release.

Related forms

cap·tur·a·ble, adjectivecap·tur·er, nounpre·cap·ture, adjective, verb (used with object), pre·cap·tured, pre·cap·tur·ing.un·cap·tur·a·ble, adjective

un·cap·tured, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for capturable

capture

/ (ˈkæptʃə) /

verb (tr)

to take prisoner or gain control overto capture an enemy; to capture a town

(in a game or contest) to win control or possession ofto 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)

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

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

the act or process of inserting or transferring data into a computer

Derived Formscapturer, noun

Word Origin for capture

C16: from Latin captūra a catching, that which is caught, from capere to take

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for capturable (1 of 2)

capture

1795, from capture (n.); in chess, checkers, etc., 1820. Related: Captured; capturing. Earlier verb in this sense was captive (early 15c.).

Word Origin and History for capturable (1 of 2)

capture

1540s, from Middle French capture "a taking," from Latin captura "a taking" (especially of animals), from captus (see captive).

capture

verb (used with object), cap·tured, cap·tur·ing.

noun

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