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catchword

[ kach-wurd ]
/ ˈkætʃˌwɜrd /
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noun

a memorable or effective word or phrase that is repeated so often that it becomes a slogan, as in a political campaign or in advertising a product.
Also called headword, guide word. a word printed at the top of a page in a dictionary or other reference book to indicate the first or last entry or article on that page.Compare running head.
a device, used especially in old books, to assist the binder in assembling signatures by inserting at the foot of each page the first word of the following page.
keyword(def 3).

RELATED WORDS

byword, slogan, catchphrase, maxim, refrain, watchword, shibboleth, password

Nearby words

  1. catchpoll,
  2. catchup,
  3. catchwater drain,
  4. catchweed,
  5. catchweight,
  6. catchy,
  7. catclaw,
  8. catcon,
  9. cate,
  10. cateau, le

Origin of catchword

First recorded in 1720–30; catch + word
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for catchword

British Dictionary definitions for catchword

catchword

/ (ˈkætʃˌwɜːd) /

noun

a word or phrase made temporarily popular, esp by a political campaign; slogan
a word printed as a running head in a reference book
theatre an actor's cue to speak or enter
the first word of a printed or typewritten page repeated at the bottom of the page preceding
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

Word Origin and History for catchword

catchword

n.

1730, "the first word of the following page inserted at the lower right-hand corner of each page of a book," from catch (v.) + word (n.); extended to "word caught up and repeated" (especially in the political sense) by 1795. The literal sense is extinct; the figurative sense thrives.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper