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• Catch-22
  Catch-22

  noun

  a frustrating situation in which one is trapped by contradictory regulations or conditions.
• catch-22
  catch-22

  noun

  a situation in which a person is frustrated by a paradoxical rule or set of circumstances that preclude any attempt to escape from them

Catch-22

American  

[kach-twen-tee-too] / ˈkætʃˌtwɛn tiˈtu /

Or catch-22

noun

Catch-22's, plural Catch-22s plural

1. a frustrating situation in which one is trapped by contradictory regulations or conditions.

2. any illogical or paradoxical problem or situation; dilemma.

3. a condition, regulation, etc., preventing the resolution of a problem or situation; catch.

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catch-22 British  

noun

1. a situation in which a person is frustrated by a paradoxical rule or set of circumstances that preclude any attempt to escape from them

2. a situation in which any move that a person can make will lead to trouble

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Catch-22 Cultural  

1. (1961) A war novel by the American author Joseph Heller. “Catch-22” is a provision in army regulations; it stipulates that a soldier's request to be relieved from active duty can be accepted only if he is mentally unfit to fight. Any soldier, however, who has the sense to ask to be spared the horrors of war is obviously mentally sound, and therefore must stay to fight.

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Catch-22 Idioms  

1. A no-win dilemma or paradox, similar to damned if I do, damned if I don't. For example, You can't get a job without experience, but you can't get experience unless you have a job—it's Catch-22. The term gained currency as the title of a 1961 war novel by Joseph Heller, who referred to an Air Force rule whereby a pilot continuing to fly combat missions without asking for relief is regarded as insane, but is considered sane enough to continue flying if he does make such a request.

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Usage

What does Catch-22 mean? Coming from the novel of the same name, a Catch-22 is a situation where one is trapped by two contradictory conditions. It's more generally used to refer to a paradox or dilemma. Example: to get a certain job, you need work experience. But to get that work experience, you need to have had a job. It’s a Catch-22.

Discover More

Figuratively, a “catch-22” is any absurd arrangement that puts a person in a double bind: for example, a person can't get a job without experience, but can't get experience without a job.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Catch-22's
  plural
• Catch-22s
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Catch-22

From a military regulation in a novel of the same name (1961) by U.S. novelist Joseph Heller (1923–99)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Catch-22 catch-22 Catch-22's Catch-22s

“It’s an Israeli Catch-22 that we created for ourselves,” said Michael Milshtein, a former senior Israeli intelligence officer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

Howell got to know Clooney himself on the set of the 2019 World War Two mini series Catch-22 and said he was "charming, full of anecdotes, a lovely man and a great actor".

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

“The cross currents around next week’s earnings set up a Catch-22 for the AI complex,” he said in a recent earnings preview.

From Barron's ● Nov. 16, 2025

Catch-22 doesn’t begin to explain how these policies are meant to act together to “make a real commitment to family well-being,” in Reynolds’ words.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2024

And she gave me Catch-22 and Cat’s Cradle.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

Waldorf had spelled out the catch-22 in her journal that morning: “If I need a blood transfusion and it stabilizes my condition, they cannot induce. If my temp continues to spike then they can induce.”

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

How that catch-22 can be resolved is perhaps the biggest test of all.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026

The catch-22 is that while stem cell transplants can prevent this failure, the usual preparative chemotherapy or radiation can cause severe complications or even cancer.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2025

It’s kind of a catch-22 because we’re so exhausted and tired that, what do we do?

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025

As a result of the Armstrong decision, defendants who suspect racial bias on the part of prosecutors are trapped in a classic catch-22.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Catch-22’s unfilmable reputation came about in part because someone did try to film it once, in the form of Mike Nicholls’ 1970 feature, and the results were patchy at best.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 20, 2019

After successful careers in advertising and on Wall Street, he does consulting work for Catch-22's amoral entrepreneur, Milo Minderbinder.

From Time Magazine Archive

After Catch-22's painful revel in World War II, and M-A-S-H's super-sanguine romp in Korea, it was inevitable that someone should take up Viet Nam.

From Time Magazine Archive

Catch-22's insights penetrate the elliptical dialogue to show that wars are too often a children's crusade, fought by boys not old enough to vote or, sometimes, to think.

From Time Magazine Archive

Still, many Afghan refugees, like those from other countries, are trapped in a series of Catch-22s.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 27, 2022

“Publicists need to acknowledge that freelancers, we exist,” she said, and that they often are in Catch-22s where they can’t get event invites without assignments from editors but also can’t get an assignment without access.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2018

It chronicles a “Dreamer’s” lifelong efforts to navigate the absurdities and Catch-22s of our broken immigration system.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2017

It all comes down to the many different Catch-22s of development.

From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2012