catch

noun

1. (countable)The act of seizing or capturing.

   “The catch of the perpetrator was the product of a year of police work.”

2. (countable)The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.

   “The player made an impressive catch.”

   “Nice catch!”

3. (countable)The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.

   “Good catch. I never would have remembered that.”

   “"In that case," said Jeff, "I just thought of something else we need." He walked over to one of the stations that was selling household goods and bought a can opener. "Nice catch," said Lucy.”

4. (uncountable)The game of catching a ball.

   “The kids love to play catch.”

5. (countable)Something which is captured or caught.

   “The fishermen took pictures of their catch.”

   “The catch amounted to five tons of swordfish.”

6. (broadly, colloquial, countable)A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.

   “Did you see his latest catch?”

   “He's a good catch.”

   “Mr. Alfred O'Shea, a tenorizing youth from Australia, sang several times at Queen's Hall, and may congratulate himself on being one of the ‘catches’ of the season. He sang airs from Italian and French operas, and also a number of Irish ditties—naturally, with a name like that and such an ingratiating McCormackian voice.”

   “"Aaaugh! Just once, I wish I could be considered a catch by men younger than fifty..."”

7. (countable)A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.

   “She installed a sturdy catch to keep her cabinets closed tight.”

8. (countable)A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.

   “There was a catch in his voice when he spoke his father's name.”

9. (countable)A concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation.

   “It sounds like a great idea, but what's the catch?”

   “Be careful, that's a catch question.”

10. (countable)A crick; a sudden muscle pain during unaccustomed positioning when the muscle is in use.

    “I bent over to see under the table and got a catch in my side.”

11. (countable)A fragment of music or poetry.

    “In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.”

    “"'Fair Enslaver!'" cried Mr. Enderby. "You must know 'Fair Enslaver:' there is not a sweeter catch than that. Come, Miss Ibbotson, begin; your sister will follow, and I—" But it so happened that Miss Ibbotson had never heard 'Fair Enslaver.'”

12. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.

    “You lie at the catch again: this is not for edification.”

    “The common and the canon law […] lie at catch, and wait advantages one against another.”

13. (countable)A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.

    “There was a good catch of rye and a good fall growth.”

14. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)A type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.

    “Fourteene miles Northward from the river Powhatan, is the river Pamaunke, which is navigable 60 or 70 myles, but with Catches and small Barkes 30 or 40 myles farther.”

15. (countable)A type of humorous round in which the voices gradually catch up with one another; usually sung by men and often having bawdy lyrics.

    “Let us be jocund: will you troll the catch / You taught me but while-ere?”

    “One night, I remember, we sang a catch, written (words and music) by Orlo Williams, for three voices.”

16. (countable)The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse.

    “The phrase repeated itself like the catch of a song.”

17. (countable)The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.

    “It was he who removed Peter Bowler with the help of a good catch at third slip.”

18. (countable)A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.

    “[…] in the field he is all activity, covers an immense amount of ground, and is a sure catch.”

19. (countable)The first contact of an oar with the water.

    “They are sitting up straighter, breaking their arms at the catch and getting on a terrific amount of power at the catch with each stroke.”

20. (countable)A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.

    “When a Scot pronounces water, better, or bottle—wa’er, be’er, or bo’le—the sound is precisely that of the catch; […].”

    “The glottal stop or glottal catch is the sound used in English in the informal words uh-huh 'yes' and uh-uh 'no'.”

21. (countable, uncountable)Passing opportunities seized; snatches.

    “the way it has been writ in, by catches, and many long intervals of interruption”

22. (countable, uncountable)A slight remembrance; a trace.

    “We retain a catch of those pretty stories.”

verb

1. (transitive)To capture, overtake.

   “I hope I catch a fish.”

   “He ran but we caught him at the exit.”

   “The police caught the robber at a nearby casino.”

2. (transitive)To capture, overtake.

   “And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.”

3. (dated, figuratively, transitive)To capture, overtake.

   “The public[…]said that Miss Bogardus was a suffragist because she had never caught a man; that she wanted something, but it wasn't the vote.”

   “"She caught this blanquito guy from El Condado," and you immediately know "My god, all that money."”

   “As for Aspasia, concubinage with Pericles brought her as much honor as she could hope to claim in Athens.[…]from the moment she caught her man, this influential, unconventional woman became a lightning rod[…].”

4. (transitive)To capture, overtake.

   “If he catches you on the chin, you'll be on the mat.”

   “The visitors started brightly and had an early chance when Valencia's experienced captain David Albeda gifted the ball to Fernando Torres, but the striker was caught by defender Adil Rami as he threatened to shoot.”

5. (transitive)To capture, overtake.

   “If you leave now you might catch him.”

   “I would love to have dinner but I have to catch a plane.”

   “Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Did anyone catch the Charlie Rose the evening before last. Did you catch it? No, nothing?”

   “For reasons I shan’t bore you with, I got them to induce me at 39 weeks, at 10am, with the epidural going in first, and it was all a dream. […] But it was all over in time for my daughter to catch the Nigeria v Argentina World Cup game that evening, during which she seemed to reckon everything was miles offside.”

6. (transitive)To capture, overtake.

   “He was caught on video robbing the bank.”

   “He was caught in the act of stealing a biscuit.”

   “Once he caught me gazing lingeringly and eagerly at him. He turned round with that mocking air he assumed when he wanted to hide his feelings.”

7. (transitive)To capture, overtake.

   “catch the bus”

   “The glare, the flies, while they waited, and he and the stationmaster put their heads together over the time-table, trying to find this other train, which, of course, they wouldn't catch.”

   “After about a kilometer I caught a taxi to Santa Croce.”

8. (rare, transitive)To capture, overtake.

   “Had Nancy got caught with a child? If so she would destroy her parent's dreams for her.”

9. (dated, transitive)To seize hold of.

   “I caught her by the arm and turned her to face me.”

   “Her aged Nourse, whose name was Glaucè hight, / Feeling her leape out of her loathed nest, / Betwixt her feeble armes her quickly keight […]”

10. (transitive)To seize hold of.

    “I have to stop for a moment and catch my breath”

    “I caught some Z's on the train.”

11. (transitive)To seize hold of.

    “My leg was caught in a tree-root.”

12. (intransitive)To seize hold of.

    “Be careful your dress doesn't catch on that knob.”

    “His voice caught when he came to his father's name.”

    “Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.”

13. (intransitive)To seize hold of.

    “Push it in until it catches.”

    “The engine finally caught and roared to life.”

14. (transitive)To seize hold of.

    “I caught my heel on the threshold.”

15. (intransitive)To seize hold of.

    “He caught at the railing as he fell.”

16. (transitive)To seize hold of.

    “The fire spread slowly until it caught the eaves of the barn.”

17. (transitive)To seize hold of.

    “Stop gathering, in that gradual fashion, and catch the water sharply and decisively.”

18. (intransitive)To seize hold of.

    “The seeds caught and grew.”

19. (transitive)To seize hold of.

    “If you are surfing a wave through the rocks, make sure you have a clear route before catching the wave.”

20. (transitive)To seize hold of.

    “When the program catches an exception, this is recorded in the log file.”

21. (transitive)To intercept.

    “I will throw you the ball, and you catch it.”

    “Watch me catch this raisin in my mouth.”

22. (archaic, transitive)To intercept.

    “she internally resolved henceforward to catch every opportunity of eyeing the hair and of satisfying herself,[…].”

23. (transitive)To intercept.

    “Townsend hit 29 before he was caught by Wilson.”

24. (intransitive, transitive)To intercept.

    “He caught the last three innings.”

25. (transitive)To receive (by being in the way).

    “You're going to catch a beating if they find out.”

26. (transitive)To receive (by being in the way).

    “The sunlight caught the leaves and the trees turned to gold.”

    “Her hair was caught by the light breeze.”

27. (informal, transitive)To receive (by being in the way).

    “Near-synonym: come down with”

    “Everyone seems to be catching the flu this week.”

28. (intransitive)To receive (by being in the way).

    “Does the sedition catch from man to man?”

    “He accosted Mrs. Browne very civilly, told her his wife was very ill, and said he was sadly troubled to get a white woman to nurse her: "For," said he, "Mrs. Simpson has set it abroad that her fever is catching."”

29. (intransitive, transitive)To receive (by being in the way).

    “The bucket catches water from the downspout.”

    “The trees caught quickly in the dry wind.”

    “the sails caught and filled, and the boat jumped to life beneath us.”

    “And the Bolshoi Ballet Academy’s account of the Grand Pas Classique from “Paquita” […] exemplified the spectacular czarist ideal of ballet that has long since became widely accepted as “classical ballet.” […] It catches an American athleticism and energetic team spirit that still seem to smash European notions of ballet classicism, as does its dancers’ selfless manner and their practicelike costumes.”

30. (transitive)To receive (by being in the way).

    “She finally caught the mood of the occasion.”

    “And the next thing I knew, I had caught feelings for her.”

31. (transitive)To receive (by being in the way).

    “He caught a bullet in the back of the head last year.”

32. (intransitive)To receive (by being in the way).

    “The nets caught well, and Mr. Deeley reported it the best fishing ground he ever tried.”

33. (intransitive)To receive (by being in the way).

    “Well, if you didn't catch this time, we'll have more fun trying again until you do.”

34. (transitive)To take in with one's senses or intellect.

    “Did you catch his name?”

    “Did you catch the way she looked at him?”

    ““A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.”

35. (informal, transitive)To take in with one's senses or intellect.

    “I have some free time tonight so I think I'll catch a movie.”

    “Tom Holland: Gong Xi Fa Cai! It's Tom Holland here. // Mark Wahlberg: And I'm Mark Wahlberg. Catch us in Uncharted this Chinese New Year at GSC. // Tom Holland: Gong Xi Fa Cai!”

36. (transitive)To take in with one's senses or intellect.

    “You've really caught his determination in this sketch.”

37. (transitive)To seize attention, interest.

    “No, a far more natural beauty caught him.”

38. (transitive)To seize attention, interest.

    “He managed to catch her attention.”

    “The enormous scarf did catch my eye.”

39. To notice.

    “-You made a typo. -Ah, thanks for catching that.”