spring catch

American  

noun

1. a catch for an interior or cabinet door that has a bolt operated by a spring.

---

Etymology

Origin of spring catch

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

She tried to open the door, but it had shut with a spring catch when she pushed on it, and her small fingers were not strong enough to open it again.

From Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home by Hope, Laura Lee

By taking off this moulding, we can saw through the edge of the panel, put on leather hinges, and I can make a spring catch.

From Frontier Boys in the South Seas by Roosevelt, Wyn

Papilio feronia, a Brazilian species capable of making "a clicking noise, similar to that produced by a toothed wheel passing under a spring catch."

From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 2 by Darwin, Francis, Sir

The rolling shades at the doors had been closely drawn, but just as the carriage came opposite us a sudden jolt displaced the spring catch of the curtain and up it flew with a snap.

From The Gates of Chance by Sutphen, Van Tassel

The cottage door may have blown shut by itself and locked with a spring catch, but this window is a horse of a different color.

From Whispering Walls by Wirt, Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine)