catcher

American  

[kach-er] / ˈkætʃ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that catches.

2. Baseball. the player stationed behind home plate, whose chief duty is to catch pitches not hit by the batter.

3. a member of an aerialist team, as in a circus, who hangs head down from a trapeze and catches another member who has completed a jump or somersault through the air.

4. Metalworking. a person who feeds metal rods through a looping mill.

5.  catcher resonator.  Electronics. Klystron

---

catcher British  

/ ˈkætʃə /

noun

1. a person or thing that catches, esp in a game or sport

2. baseball a fielder who stands behind home plate and catches pitched balls not hit by the batter

---

Etymology

Origin of catcher

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; catch, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Echoed catcher Dalton Rushing: “You have teams that come to town and they could’ve lost their last 13 games, but if they take two from the Dodgers, their whole month’s complete.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

Speaking of survival, catcher Will Smith has played in 126 games or more four times in the last five years.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026

And catcher Cal Raleigh, who mashed 60 home runs last season, went 0 for 9 in the tournament and wound up on the bench.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

A few weeks before he pitched in the most important game of his life, high-school senior Joseph Contreras sat down with his catcher to review some film.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Johnny was pitcher and 1 was a catcher.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson