CATCH
apprehension, arrest, catch, collar, pinch, taking into custody
(noun) the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal); “the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar”
catch, grab, snatch, snap
(noun) the act of catching an object with the hands; “Mays made the catch with his back to the plate”; “he made a grab for the ball before it landed”; “Martin’s snatch at the bridle failed and the horse raced away”; “the infielder’s snap and throw was a single motion”
catch
(noun) a cooperative game in which a ball is passed back and forth; “he played catch with his son in the backyard”
catch
(noun) a fastener that fastens or locks a door or window
catch, stop
(noun) a restraint that checks the motion of something; “he used a book as a stop to hold the door open”
catch, gimmick
(noun) a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident; “it sounds good but what’s the catch?”
catch
(noun) a break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong emotion)
catch
(noun) anything that is caught (especially if it is worth catching); “he shared his catch with the others”
catch, match
(noun) a person regarded as a good matrimonial prospect
catch, haul
(noun) the quantity that was caught; “the catch was only 10 fish”
catch
(verb) be struck or affected by; “catch fire”; “catch the mood”
catch, get
(verb) grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of; “did you catch that allusion?”; “We caught something of his theory in the lecture”; “don’t catch your meaning”; “did you get it?”; “She didn’t get the joke”; “I just don’t get him”
catch
(verb) discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state; “She caught her son eating candy”; “She was caught shoplifting”
catch
(verb) be the catcher; “Who is catching?”
overtake, catch, catch up with
(verb) catch up with and possibly overtake; “The Rolls Royce caught us near the exit ramp”
get, catch, capture
(verb) succeed in catching or seizing, especially after a chase; “We finally got the suspect”; “Did you catch the thief?”
hitch, catch
(verb) to hook or entangle; “One foot caught in the stirrup”
catch
(verb) cause to become accidentally or suddenly caught, ensnared, or entangled; “I caught the hem of my dress in the brambles”
catch, grab, take hold of
(verb) take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of; “Catch the ball!”; “Grab the elevator door!”
capture, catch
(verb) capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping; “I caught a rabbit in the trap today”
catch, arrest, get
(verb) attract and fix; “His look caught her”; “She caught his eye”; “Catch the attention of the waiter”
capture, enamour, trance, catch, becharm, enamor, captivate, beguile, charm, fascinate, bewitch, entrance, enchant
(verb) attract; cause to be enamored; “She captured all the men’s hearts”
catch
(verb) reach in time; “I have to catch a train at 7 o’clock”
catch, get
(verb) suffer from the receipt of; “She will catch hell for this behavior!”
catch, pick up
(verb) perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily; “I caught the aroma of coffee”; “He caught the allusion in her glance”; “ears open to catch every sound”; “The dog picked up the scent”; “Catch a glimpse”
watch, view, see, catch, take in
(verb) see or watch; “view a show on television”; “This program will be seen all over the world”; “view an exhibition”; “Catch a show on Broadway”; “see a movie”
catch, take in, overhear
(verb) hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers; “We overheard the conversation at the next table”
catch
(verb) get or regain something necessary, usually quickly or briefly; “Catch some sleep”; “catch one’s breath”
catch
(verb) start burning; “The fire caught”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
catch (countable and uncountable, plural catches)
(countable) The act of seizing or capturing.
(countable) The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.
(countable) The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.
(uncountable) The game of catching a ball.
(countable) Something which is captured or caught.
(countable, colloquial, by extension) A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.
(countable) A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.
(countable) A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.
(countable, sometimes noun adjunct) A concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation.
(countable) A crick; a sudden muscle pain during unaccustomed positioning when the muscle is in use.
(countable) A fragment of music or poetry.
(obsolete) A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.
(countable, agriculture) A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.
(obsolete) A type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.
(countable, music) A type of humorous round in which the voices gradually catch up with one another; usually sung by men and often having bawdy lyrics.
(countable, music) The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse.
(countable, cricket, baseball) The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.
(countable, cricket) A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.
(countable, rowing) The first contact of an oar with the water.
(countable, phonetics) A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.
Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
A slight remembrance; a trace.
Synonyms
• (act of capturing): seizure, capture, collar, snatch
• (the act of catching a ball): grasp, snatch
• (act of noticing): observation
• (a find): prize, find; conquest, beau
• (quantity captured): haul, take
• (stopping mechanism): stop, chock; clasp, hasp, latch
• (hidden difficulty): snag, problem; trick, gimmick, hitch
• (fragment of music): snatch, fragment; snippet, bit
• (refrain): chorus, refrain, burden
Verb
catch (third-person singular simple present catches, present participle catching, simple past and past participle caught)
(heading) To capture, overtake.
(transitive) To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape). [from 13thc.]
(transitive) To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive. [from 14thc.]
(transitive, figuratively, dated) To marry or enter into a similar relationship with.
(transitive) To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc. [from 16thc.]
(transitive) To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for. [from 17thc.]
(transitive) To unpleasantly discover unexpectedly; to unpleasantly surprise (someone doing something). [from 17thc.]
(transitive) To travel by means of. [from 19thc.]
(transitive, rare) To become pregnant. (Only in past tense or as participle.) [from 19thc.]
(heading) To seize hold of.
(transitive, dated) To grab, seize, take hold of. [from 13thc.]
(transitive) To take or replenish something necessary, such as breath or sleep. [from 14thc.]
(transitive) To grip or entangle. [from 17thc.]
(intransitive) To be held back or impeded.
(intransitive) To engage with some mechanism; to stick, to succeed in interacting with something or initiating some process.
(transitive) To have something be held back or impeded.
(intransitive) To make a grasping or snatching motion (at). [from 17thc.]
(transitive) Of fire, to spread or be conveyed to. [from 18thc.]
(transitive, rowing) To grip (the water) with one's oars at the beginning of the stroke. [from 19thc.]
(intransitive, agriculture) To germinate and set down roots. [from 19thc.]
(transitive, surfing) To contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore.
(transitive, computing) To handle an exception. [from 20thc.]
(heading) To intercept.
(transitive) To seize or intercept an object moving through the air (or, sometimes, some other medium). [from 16thc.]
(transitive, now, rare) To seize (an opportunity) when it occurs. [from 16thc.]
(transitive, cricket) To end a player's innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce. [from 18thc.]
(transitive, intransitive, baseball) To play (a specific period of time) as the catcher. [from 19thc.]
(heading) To receive (by being in the way).
(transitive) To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.). [from 13thc.]
(transitive) To be touched or affected by (something) through exposure. [from 13thc.]
(transitive) To be infected by (an illness). [from 16thc.]
(intransitive) To spread by infection or similar means.
(transitive, intransitive) To receive or be affected by (wind, water, fire etc.). [from 18thc.]
(transitive) To acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or infection. [from 16thc.]
(transitive) To be hit by something.
(intransitive) To serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish.
(intransitive, ) To get pregnant.
(heading) To take in with one's senses or intellect.
(transitive) To grasp mentally: perceive and understand. [from 16thc.]
(transitive, informal) To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment). [from 20thc.]
(transitive) To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully. [from 17thc.]
(heading) To seize attention, interest.
(transitive) To charm or entrance. [from 14thc.]
(transitive) To attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense). [from 17thc.]
(heading) To obtain or experience
Usage notes
• The older past and passive participle catched is now nonstandard.
Synonyms
• (seize in motion): fang, snatch, grab
• (capture prey): capture, take; snare, hook
• (be hit): take, get
Antonyms
• drop, release
Source: Wiktionary
Catch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caught or Catched (; p. pr. & vb. n. Catching. Catched is rarely used.] Etym: [OE. cacchen, OF. cachier, dialectic form of chacier to hunt, F. chasser, fr. (assumend) LL. captiare, for L. capture, V. intens. of capere to take, catch. See Capacious, and cf. Chase, Case a box.]
1. To lay hold on; to seize, especially with the hand; to grasp (anything) in motion, with the effect of holding; as, to catch a ball.
2. To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief. "They pursued . . . and caught him." Judg. i. 6.
3. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish.
4. Hence: To insnare; to entangle. "To catch him in his words". Mark xii. 13.
5. To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody. "Fiery thoughts . . . whereof I catch the issue." Tennyson.
6. To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building.
7. To engage and attach; to please; to charm. The soothing arts that catch the fair. Dryden.
8. To get possession of; to attain. Torment myself to catch the English throne. Shak.
9. To take or receive; esp. to take by sympathy, contagion, infection, or exposure; as, to catch the spirit of an occasion; to catch the measles or smallpox; to catch cold; the house caught fire.
10. To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.
11. To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train. To catch fire, to become inflamed or ignited.
– to catch it to get a scolding or beating; to suffer punishment. [Colloq.] -- To catch one's eye, to interrupt captiously while speaking. [Colloq.] "You catch me up so very short." Dickens.
– To catch up, to snatch; to take up suddenly.
Catch, v. i.
1. To attain possession. [Obs.] Have is have, however men do catch. Shak.
2. To be held or impeded by entanglement or a light obstruction; as, a kite catches in a tree; a door catches so as not to open.
3. To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch.
4. To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate. Does the sedition catch from man to man Addison. To catch at, to attempt to seize; to be egger to get or use. "[To] catch at all opportunities of subverting the state." Addison.
– To catch up with, to come up with; to overtake.
Catch, n.
1. Act of seizing; a grasp. Sir P. Sidney.
2. That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened; as, the catch of a gate.
3. The posture of seizing; a state of preparation to lay hold of, or of watching he opportunity to seize; as, to lie on the catch. [Archaic] Addison. The common and the canon law . . . lie at catch, and wait advantages one againt another. T. Fuller.
4. That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the whole quantity caught or taken at one time; as, a good catch of fish. Hector shall have a great catch if he knock out either of your brains. Shak.
5. Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony. [Colloq.] Marryat.
6. pl.
Definition: Passing opportunities seized; snatches. It has been writ by catches with many intervals. Locke.
7. A slight remembrance; a trace. We retain a catch of those pretty stories. Glanvill.
8. (Mus.)
Definition: A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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