catchy
Americanadjective
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catchier,
comparative
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catchiest
superlative
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pleasing and easily remembered.
a catchy tune.
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likely to attract interest or attention.
a catchy title for a movie.
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tricky; deceptive.
a catchy question.
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occurring in snatches; fitful.
a catchy wind.
adjective
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(of a tune, etc) pleasant and easily remembered or imitated
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tricky or deceptive
a catchy question
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irregular
a catchy breeze
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of catchy
Explanation
Something that's catchy grabs your attention or sticks in your memory. A catchy TV commercial jingle is one that kids can't stop singing. Ad executives are always seeking catchy slogans or ideas, and movie distributors work hard to put out catchy trailers for new films. Successful pop musicians have solved the puzzle of how to write a catchy song. In all of these cases, the catchy item appeals to many people and stays with them. The word dates from the 1830s, possibly from the sense of catch meaning "contract an illness that's passed from person to person."
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.
See Examples For:
It’s a catchy idea that explains why figures like Peter Parker, Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter have a lasting hold on their fans in ways that other heroes don’t.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
For rock fans, “Boston” had it all—dramatic guitar solos, powerful lead vocals, a jabbing bass line, thrashing drums and catchy songs with a smart blend of pop and metal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Moana” became a box office hit, captivating audiences with catchy earworms from Lin-Manuel Miranda and a spunky young heroine who rejected the label of princess.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Bulgaria won Eurovision 2026 in Vienna in May with Dara's catchy floor-filler "Bangaranga" sweeping the 70th edition of the glitzy TV extravaganza, meaning they will get to host next year's edition.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
He thought some of it was downright catchy.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
I Wrote A Song is a frank and funny revenge track, bitter as a bag of lemons and catchier than the common cold.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2023
A general manager encouraged him to adopt the last name Laboe because it sounded catchier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2022
“It’d be nice to think of a catchier name,” Potter admits.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 26, 2022
After all, the catchier the song, the more difficult it will be for the haters to avoid Lil Nas X in all his glorious, kaleidoscopic humanity.
From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2021
It isn’t better than the Haydn; it is just catchier.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
A dirty little truth about “feel-good” hits, down to the catchiest ditty, is that they’re rarely a band or an artist’s best work.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026
In time, the Shermans would conjure many of the catchiest and most beloved movie songs of the 20th century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Yes, “ Dancing on My Own,” a 2016 dance remix performed by a British reality show contestant improbably became the catchiest song of last season’s run to the World Series.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
And each of the six actors — dressed in jewel-toned Tudor fits, fishnet stockings and bedazzled boots — reprise the catchiest sections of their characters’ signature songs for the crowd and their phones.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2023
Possibly the catchiest of these, a really cute little thing, was achieved by jazzing up the Funeral March.
From And All the Earth a Grave by C. C. MacApp
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.
