In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
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
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
26 April 2024
CITYSCAPE
(noun) a viewpoint toward a city or other heavily populated area; “the dominant character of the cityscape is it poverty”
Coffee Trivia
