Etymology

Noun

1. The act of seizing or capturing.

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

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

   The player made an impressive catch.

   Nice catch!

3. The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.

   Good catch. I never would have remembered that.

4. The game of catching a ball.

   The kids love to play catch.

5. A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.

   Did you see his latest catch?

   He's a good catch.

6. Something which is captured or caught.

   The fishermen took pictures of their catch.

7. The amount which is caught, especially of fish.

   The catch amounted to five tons of swordfish.

8. A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.

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

9. A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.

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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. A fragment of music or poetry.
    • 1. A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.
         • 1. A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.
              • 1. A type of humorous round in which the voices gradually catch up with one another; usually sung by men and often having bawdy lyrics.
                   • 1. The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse.
                        • 1. The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.
                             • 1. A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.
                                  • 1. The first contact of an oar with the water.
                                       • 1. A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.
                                            • 
                                              

                                              Synonyms

                                              seizure, capture, collar, snatch grasp, snatch observation prize, find; conquest, beau haul, take stop, chock; clasp, latch snag, problem; trick, gimmick, hitch snatch, fragment; snippet, bit chorus, refrain, burden
                                              

                                              Verb

                                              
                                              
                                              
                                              1. To seize a moving object, with the hands or otherwise.

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

                                                 Watch me catch this raisin in my mouth.

                                              2. To capture or snare, especially an animal.

                                                 I hope I catch a fish.

                                              3. To seize after a pursuit.

                                                 He ran but we caught him at the exit.

                                                 The police caught the robber at a nearby casino.

                                              4. To grasp mentally: perceive and understand.

                                                 Did you catch his name?

                                                 Did you catch the way she looked at him?

                                              5. To attract and hold.

                                                 He managed to catch her attention.

                                              6. To charm or entrance.
                                                 • 1. To discover, to surprise in the act.

                                                      He was caught on video robbing the bank.

                                                      He was caught in the act of stealing a biscuit.

                                                   2. To seize (an opportunity).
                                                      • 1. To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment).

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

                                                        2. To be in time for; to reach in time (especially, in time to leave).

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

                                                        3. To travel by means of.
                                                           • 1. To spread or be conveyed to.

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

                                                             2. To be infected by.

                                                                Everyone seems to be catching the flu this week.

                                                             3. To be affected by; to join in.

                                                                She finally caught the mood of the occasion.

                                                             4. To regain something necessary, such as breath or sleep.

                                                                I have to stop for a moment and catch my breath.

                                                                I caught some Z's on the train.

                                                             5. To overtake or catch up to.

                                                                We didn't catch the van until the next exit.

                                                             6. To receive and retain.

                                                                The bucket catches water from the downspout.

                                                             7. To have something be held back or impeded.

                                                                I caught my heel on the threshold.

                                                             8. To suffer from; to receive.

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

                                                                We caught a run of bad luck this year.

                                                             9. To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully.

                                                                You've really caught his determination in this sketch.

                                                             10. To engage, stick, or latch.

                                                                 Push it in until it catches.

                                                             11. To make a grasping or snatching motion.

                                                                 He caught at the railing as he fell.

                                                             12. To catch fire; to ignite.

                                                                 The trees caught quickly in the dry wind.

                                                             13. To be held back or impeded.

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

                                                             14. To hesitate, as if momentarily stuck.

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

                                                                 I was about to say something unpleasant, but I managed to catch myself.

                                                             15. To spread by contagion.

                                                                 The plague caught there, and left half the town dead.

                                                             16. To serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish.
                                                                 • 1. To hit someone in a specific place.

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

                                                                   2. To be hit by something.

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

                                                                   3. To touch or be touched by, especially wind or light.

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

                                                                   4. To entrap or trip up a person, especially deceptively.
                                                                      • 1. To become pregnant.
                                                                           • 1. To marry or enter into a similar relationship with a man.
                                                                                • 1. • 1. To handle an exception.

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

                                                                                       2. To play a specific period of time as the catcher.

                                                                                          He caught the last three innings.

                                                                                       3. To end a player's innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce.

                                                                                          Townsend hit 29 before he was caught by Wilson.

                                                                                       4. To lower one's oars into the water at the beginning of the stroke.
                                                                                          • 1. To contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore.
                                                                                               • 1. To deliver or assist in the delivery of a baby.
                                                                                                    • 1. To germinate and set down roots.

                                                                                                         The seeds caught and grew.

                                                                                                      2. To turn over.

                                                                                                         The engine finally caught and roared to life.

                                                                                                      3. To receive wind; to be blown on.
                                                                                                         • 
                                                                                                           

                                                                                                           Synonyms

                                                                                                           snatch, grab capture, take; snare, hook take down, collar, apprehend, arrest take, get
                                                                                                           

                                                                                                           Dictionary notes

                                                                                                           • For a survey of treatments of this word in various major dictionaries, see Appendix:Dictionary notes/catch.