capture

[ kap-cher ]

/ ˈkæp tʃər /

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See synonyms for: capture / captured / captures / capturing on Thesaurus.com

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR capture

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

6 seizure, arrest, apprehension.

See synonyms for capture on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR capture

1, 6 release.

See antonyms for capture on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

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"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

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Origin of capture

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

OTHER WORDS FROM capture

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. 2022

How to use capture in a sentence

He captures all the different issues a president deals with and moves from one to the next.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society|Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Nothing captures the exuberance and sensory experience of Havana quite like this.
Book Bag: Great Books About Cuba|Julia Cooke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then I read aloud from something that captures the Holiday Spirit.
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He captures Ramone and his second wife, Barbara, together in the studio in one photo, him on bass, her on guitar.
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk Paintings|Melissa Leon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

No one doubts that these comedians will be killed if ISIS captures them.
Middle East Goes Monty Python on ISIS|Dean Obeidallah|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His first idea is to seek wealth, so he builds a great boat and captures twelve hundred tunny fish.
Frdric Mistral|Charles Alfred Downer
There were some captures of cotton going out, and others of supplies going in, but the losses were for a long time inconsiderable.
The Supplies for the Confederate Army|Caleb Huse
Yes, you have done enough for one trip, and I should much regret were you to be deprived of any of your captures.
A Roving Commission|G. A. Henty
Frequently I would go out spearing and netting fish, my principal captures being mullet.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont|Louis de Rougemont
He captures a town which the king had besieged for three months without success.
Witch, Warlock, and Magician|William Henry Davenport Adams

British Dictionary definitions for capture

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 forms of capture

capturer, 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

Medical definitions for capture

capture

[ kăp′chər ]

The act of catching, taking, or holding a particle or impulse.

capture

OTHER WORDS FOR capture

OPPOSITES FOR capture

Origin of capture

OTHER WORDS FROM capture

Words related to capture

How to use capture in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for capture

Derived forms of capture

Word Origin for capture

Medical definitions for capture