- 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.
I don’t understand why kids who are still catching frogs and wearing Yoda pajamas need to be traveling to expensive out of state tournaments like they’re AC Milan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
In his hearing, Blanche said he “is” Trump’s lawyer, before catching himself to say he “was” Trump’s lawyer.
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026
That means now is the time to acquire a catching option they may or may not need later.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
“If you have open models that are coming onto the scene, catching up in capability, then that’s going to put pricing pressure on the frontier labs,” Hou told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
“It’s Molly, Anat’s girlfriend,” she said quickly, Anat’s name catching in her throat.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
