catch-as-catch-can

[ kach-uhz-kach-kan ]

/ ˈkætʃ əzˈkætʃˈkæn /

Save This Word!

adjective

Also catch-can . taking advantage of any opportunity; using any method that can be applied: a catch-as-catch-can life, as an itinerant handyman.

adverb

without specific plan or order: They lived catch-as-catch-can.

noun

a style of wrestling in which the contestants are permitted to trip, tackle, and use holds below the waist.Compare Greco-Roman (def. 3).

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of catch-as-catch-can

First recorded in 1885–90

Words nearby catch-as-catch-can

cat cafe, catcall, catch, Catch-22, catchall, catch-as-catch-can, catch at, catch a Tartar, catch basin, catch cold, catch-colt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use catch-as-catch-can in a sentence

Anyhow, drawled the man from Catch-as-Catch-Can, she wont go no more.
Every Man for Himself|Norman Duncan
Sam is a human firebrand, a dash of tabasco, a rough comedian and catch-as-catch-can joker.
Fore!|Charles Emmett Van Loan
It was a constantly changing battle, kaleidoscopic, free-for-all, catch-as-catch-can.
Current History, Vol. VIII, No. 3, June 1918|Various
The supply of grape juice seems almost unlimited, yet coal is to be had catch-as-catch-can.
Mince PieAuthor: Christopher Darlington MorleyRelease Date: October 10, 2004 [eBook #13694]|Christopher Darlington Morley

It was catch-as-catch-can in the darkness, and mostly the other fellow could and did.
Astounding Stories, March, 1931|Various

British Dictionary definitions for catch-as-catch-can

catch-as-catch-can

noun

a style of wrestling in which trips, holds below the waist, etc, are allowed

adjective, adverb

mainly US and Canadian using any method or opportunity that comes to hand

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

Cultural definitions for catch-as-catch-can

catch-as-catch-can

A phrase that describes a situation in which people must improvise or do what they can with limited means: “We don't have enough textbooks for all of the students, so it'll be catch-as-catch-can.”

Other Idioms and Phrases with catch-as-catch-can

catch as catch can

By whatever means or in any way possible, as in There was no formal language program; one simply learned Spanish catch as catch can. This term, in slightly varying versions but with the same meaning, dates from the late 1300s.