catch

[ kach ]

/ kætʃ /

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See synonyms for: catch / catches / catching / caught on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), caught, catch·ing.

to seize or capture, especially after pursuit: to catch a criminal; to catch a runaway horse.

to trap or ensnare: to catch a fish.

to intercept and seize; take and hold (something thrown, falling, etc.): to catch a ball; a barrel to catch rain.

to come upon suddenly; surprise or detect, as in some action: I caught him stealing the pumpkin.

to receive, incur, or contract: to catch a cold.

to be in time to get aboard (a train, boat, etc.).

to lay hold of; grasp; clasp: He caught her in a warm embrace.

to grip, hook, or entangle: The sharp branches caught his clothing.

to allow (something) to become gripped, hooked, snagged, or entangled: He caught his coat on a nail.

to attract or arrest: The painting caught his fancy.His speech caught our attention.

to check or restrain suddenly (often used reflexively): She caught her breath in surprise.He caught himself before he said the wrong thing.

to see or attend: to catch a show.

to strike; hit: The blow caught him on the head.

to become inspired by or aware of: I caught the spirit of the occasion.

to fasten with or as if with a catch: to catch the clasp on a necklace.

to deceive: No one was caught by his sugary words.

to attract the attention of; captivate; charm: She was caught by his smile and good nature.

to grasp with the intellect; comprehend: She failed to catch his meaning.

to hear clearly: We caught only snatches of their conversation.

to apprehend and record; capture: The painting caught her expression perfectly.

South Midland and Southern U.S. to assist at the birth of: The town doctor caught more than four hundred children before he retired.

verb (used without object), caught, catch·ing.

to become gripped, hooked, or entangled: Her foot caught in the net.

to overtake someone or something moving (usually followed by up, up with, or up to).

to take hold: The door lock doesn't catch.

Baseball. to play the position of catcher: He catches for the Yankees.

to become lighted; take fire; ignite: The kindling caught instantly.

to become established, as a crop or plant, after germination and sprouting.

noun

the act of catching.

anything that catches, especially a device for checking motion, as a latch on a door.

any tricky or concealed drawback: It seems so easy that there must be a catch somewhere.

a slight, momentary break or crack in the voice.

that which is caught, as a quantity of fish: The fisherman brought home a large catch.

a person or thing worth getting, especially a person regarded as a desirable matrimonial prospect: My mother thinks Pat would be quite a catch.

a game in which a ball is thrown from one person to another: to play catch; to have a catch.

a fragment: catches of a song.

Music. a round, especially one in which the words are so arranged as to produce ludicrous effects.

Sports. the catching and holding of a batted or thrown ball before it touches the ground.

Rowing. the first part of the stroke, consisting of the placing of the oar into the water.

Agriculture. the establishment of a crop from seed: a catch of clover.

adjective

catchy (def. 3).

Verb Phrases

catch at, to grasp at eagerly; accept readily: He caught at the chance to get free tickets.

catch on,

to become popular: That new song is beginning to catch on.
to grasp mentally; understand: You'd think he'd catch on that he's boring us.
New England. (in cooking) to scorch or burn slightly; sear: A pot roast is better if allowed to catch on.

catch out, Chiefly British. to catch or discover (a person) in deceit or an error.

catch up,

to lift or snatch suddenly: Leaves were caught up in the wind.
to bring or get up to date (often followed by on or with): to catch up on one's reading.
to come up to or overtake (something or someone) (usually followed by with): to catch up with the leader in a race.
to become involved or entangled with: caught up in the excitement of the crowd.
to point out to (a person) minor errors, untruths, etc. (usually followed by on): We caught the teacher up on a number of factual details.
Falconry. to capture for further training (a hawk that has been flown at hack).
South Midland and Southern U.S. to harness (a horse or mule).

OTHER WORDS FOR catch

1 apprehend, arrest.

17 enchant, fascinate, win.

28 capture, apprehension, arrest.

29 ratchet, bolt.

See synonyms for catch on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR catch

1, 7 release.

See antonyms for catch on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about catch

catch a crab, (in rowing) to bungle a stroke by failing to get the oar into the water at the beginning or by failing to withdraw it properly at the end.

catch a turn, Nautical. to wind a rope around a bitt, capstan, etc., for one full turn.

catch it, Informal. to receive a reprimand or punishment: He'll catch it from his mother for tearing his good trousers again.

catch lightning in a bottle. See entry at catch lightning in a bottle.

catch one’s death (of cold). death (def. 14).

Origin of catch

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English cacchen “to chase, capture,” from Old North French cachier, from unattested Vulgar Latin captiāre, for Latin captāre “to grasp at, seek out, try to catch,” frequentative of capere “to take”

synonym study for catch

7. Catch, clutch, grasp, seize imply taking hold suddenly of something. To catch may be to reach after and get: He caught my hand. To clutch is to take firm hold of (often out of fear or nervousness), and retain: The child clutched her mother's hand. To grasp also suggests both getting and keeping hold of, with a connotation of eagerness and alertness, rather than fear (literally or figuratively): to grasp someone's hand in welcome; to grasp an idea. To seize implies the use of force or energy in taking hold of suddenly (literally or figuratively): to seize a criminal; to seize an opportunity.

OTHER WORDS FROM catch

catch·a·ble, adjectiveout·catch, verb (used with object), out·caught, out·catch·ing.un·catch·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby catch

catbrier, cat-built, cat burglar, cat cafe, catcall, catch, Catch-22, catchall, catch-as-catch-can, catch at, catch a Tartar

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use catch in a sentence

Canix caught the eye of several critical investors in its short life.
Canix aims to ease cannabis cultivators’ regulatory bookkeeping|Matt Burns|September 17, 2020|TechCrunch
How to vote in your stateOn the pandemic, fears of becoming infected persist, with more than 6 in 10 Minnesota voters “very” or “somewhat” worried about an immediate family member catching the novel coronavirus.
Post-ABC poll and others suggest Minnesota has shifted since 2016, but by how much?|Scott Clement, Dan Balz|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
To find out more about how his company is navigating through current challenges and what the future holds for business travel, Fortune recently caught up with Cohen—several weeks after the CEO made his first work trip in months.
Are you ready to start traveling for work again? TripActions’ CEO is banking on it|Michal Lev-Ram, writer|September 15, 2020|Fortune
The engineers are working hard to meet their deadlines, and this reporter even caught Gil pulling aside some engineers to tell them to remember to take time off.
IBM plans a huge leap in superfast quantum computing by 2023|rhhackettfortune|September 15, 2020|Fortune

It didn’t take me long to realize that catching star-nosed moles did not include hopping from stone to stone along clear mountain streams like a wood elf.
How to hunt for star-nosed moles (and their holes)|Kenneth Catania|September 15, 2020|Popular-Science
They all immediately dashed out to their car to catch the bad guys.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“The government just wanted to catch the big fish [in the Juarez cartel] and they ignored everything in between,” Lozoya said.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro|Bill Conroy|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
From a lyrical standpoint, there are precious few that can catch Kendrick.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More|Marlow Stern|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With Rick, I think the culture just lags behind great artists much of the time, and it takes time for it to catch up.
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Phone lines would catch fire from the velocity and ferocity of his words.
David Garth, the Consultant Who Talked Up to Voters|Jeff Greenfield|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While you were admiring the long roll of the wave, a sudden spray would be dashed over you, and make you catch your breath!
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
If I could catch Laura's eye—but I suppose it would hardly be decent to go just yet.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
Then Squinty would toss the apple up in the air, off his nose, and catch it as it came down.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
But what if I catch the fish by using a hired boat and a hired net, or by buying worms as bait from some one who has dug them?
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
We nearly played our horses out galloping around looking for you—after we'd gone a mile or so, and you didn't catch up.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for catch

catch

/ (kætʃ) /

verb catches, catching or caught

(tr) to take hold of so as to retain or restrainhe caught the ball

(tr) to take, seize, or capture, esp after pursuit

(tr) to ensnare or deceive, as by trickery

(tr) to surprise or detect in an acthe caught the dog rifling the larder

(tr) to reach with a blowthe stone caught him on the side of the head

(tr) to overtake or reach in time to boardif we hurry we should catch the next bus

(tr) to see or hear; attendI didn't catch the Ibsen play

(tr) to be infected withto catch a cold

to hook or entangle or become hooked or entangledher dress caught on a nail

to fasten or be fastened with or as if with a latch or other device

(tr) to attract or arrestshe tried to catch his eye

(tr) to comprehendI didn't catch his meaning

(tr) to hear accuratelyI didn't catch what you said

(tr) to captivate or charm

(tr) to perceive and reproduce accuratelythe painter managed to catch his model's beauty

(tr) to hold back or restrainhe caught his breath in surprise

(intr) to become alightthe fire won't catch

(tr) cricket to dismiss (a batsman) by intercepting and holding a ball struck by him before it touches the ground

(intr often foll by at)

to grasp or attempt to grasp
to take advantage (of), esp eagerlyhe caught at the chance

(intr; used passively) informal to make pregnant

catch it informal to be scolded or reprimanded

catch oneself on slang to realize that one's actions are mistaken

noun

the act of catching or grasping

a device that catches and fastens, such as a latch

anything that is caught, esp something worth catching

the amount or number caught

informal a person regarded as an eligible matrimonial prospect

a check or break in the voice

a break in a mechanism

informal

a concealed, unexpected, or unforeseen drawback or handicap
(as modifier)a catch question

a game in which a ball is thrown from one player to another

cricket the catching of a ball struck by a batsman before it touches the ground, resulting in him being out

music a type of round popular in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, having a humorous text that is often indecent or bawdy and hard to articulateSee round (def. 31), canon 1 (def. 7)

Derived forms of catch

catchable, adjective

Word Origin for catch

C13 cacchen to pursue, from Old Northern French cachier, from Latin captāre to snatch, from capere to seize

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with catch

catch

In addition to the idioms beginning with catch

catch as catch can
catch at
catch a Tartar
catch cold
catch fire
catch in the act
catch it
catch napping
catch off guard
catch on
catch one's breath
catch one's death (of cold)
catch red-handed
catch sight of
catch someone's eye
catch some rays
catch some z's
catch the drift
catch up

also see:

early bird catches the worm
get (catch) the drift
takes one to know one (a thief to catch a thief)

Also see undercaught.

catch

OTHER WORDS FOR catch

OPPOSITES FOR catch

Idioms about catch

Origin of catch

synonym study for catch

OTHER WORDS FROM catch

Words nearby catch

Words related to catch

How to use catch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for catch

Derived forms of catch

Word Origin for catch

Other Idioms and Phrases with catch