- present participle of catch.
catching
Americanadjective
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tending to be transmitted from one person to another; contagious or infectious.
a disease that is catching;
His enthusiasm is catching.
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attractive; fascinating; captivating; alluring.
a catching personality.
adjective
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infectious
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attractive; captivating
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of catching
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at catch, -ing 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nepal’s government has said the nature of the disaster took time to understand, catching both countries by surprise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
But Sanchez has some catching up to do - and when asked about his mistakes, Alonso could only stress the collective responsibility of the team.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
And catching bird flu can push our most threatened species, such as the orange-bellied parrot, to the brink of extinction.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
If I’m watching TV, I’d be catching up on “Andor,” Season 2.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
I’ve never been good at the catching part of the sport, but I’ve always been great at the tackling-and-falling part.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
