/kat͡ʃ/, /kat͡ʃ/, /kɛt͡ʃ/
- countableThe act of seizing or capturing.
“The catch of the perpetrator was the product of a year of police work.”
- countableThe act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.
“The player made an impressive catch.”
“Nice catch!”
- countableThe 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.”
- uncountableThe game of catching a ball.
“The kids love to play catch.”
- countableSomething which is captured or caught.
“The fishermen took pictures of their catch.”
“The catch amounted to five tons of swordfish.”
- broadly, colloquial, countableA 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”
- countableA stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.
“She installed a sturdy catch to keep her cabinets closed tight.”
- countableA hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.
“There was a catch in his voice when he spoke his father's name.”
- countableA 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.”
- countableA 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.”
- countableA 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 ”
- countable, obsolete, uncountableA 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.”
- countableA crop which has germinated and begun to grow.
“There was a good catch of rye and a good fall growth.”
- countable, obsolete, uncountableA 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.”
- countableA 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.”
- countableThe 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.”
- countableThe 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.”
- countableA 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.”
- countableThe 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.”
- countableA 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'.”
- countable, uncountablePassing opportunities seized; snatches.
“the way it has been writ in, by catches, and many long intervals of interruption”
- countable, uncountableA slight remembrance; a trace.
“We retain a catch of those pretty stories.”
- transitiveTo capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape).
“I hope I catch a fish.”
“He ran but we caught him at the exit.”
“The police caught the robber at a nearby casino.”
- transitiveTo entrap or trip up a person; to deceive.
“And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.”
- dated, figuratively, transitiveTo marry or enter into a similar relationship with.
“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 lightnin”
- transitiveTo reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc.
“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 threat”
- transitiveTo overtake or catch up to; to be in time for.
“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?”
- transitiveTo unpleasantly discover unexpectedly; to unpleasantly surprise (someone doing something).
“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.”
- transitiveTo travel by means of.
“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.”
- rare, transitiveTo become pregnant. (Only in past tense or as participle.)
“Had Nancy got caught with a child? If so she would destroy her parent's dreams for her.”
- dated, transitiveTo grab, seize, take 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 […]”
- transitiveTo take or replenish 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.”
- transitiveTo grip or entangle.
“My leg was caught in a tree-root.”
- intransitiveTo be held back or impeded.
“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 ”
- intransitiveTo engage with some mechanism; to stick, to succeed in interacting with something or initiating some process.
“Push it in until it catches.”
“The engine finally caught and roared to life.”
- transitiveTo have something be held back or impeded.
“I caught my heel on the threshold.”
- intransitiveTo make a grasping or snatching motion (at).
“He caught at the railing as he fell.”
- transitiveTo spread or be conveyed to.
“The fire spread slowly until it caught the eaves of the barn.”
- transitiveTo grip (the water) with one's oars at the beginning of the stroke.
“Stop gathering, in that gradual fashion, and catch the water sharply and decisively.”
- intransitiveTo germinate and set down roots.
“The seeds caught and grew.”
- transitiveTo contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore.
“If you are surfing a wave through the rocks, make sure you have a clear route before catching the wave.”
- transitiveTo handle an exception.
“When the program catches an exception, this is recorded in the log file.”
- transitiveTo seize or intercept an object moving through the air (or, sometimes, some other medium).
“I will throw you the ball, and you catch it.”
“Watch me catch this raisin in my mouth.”
- archaic, transitiveTo seize (an opportunity) when it occurs.
“she internally resolved henceforward to catch every opportunity of eyeing the hair and of satisfying herself,[…].”
- transitiveTo end a player's innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce.
“Townsend hit 29 before he was caught by Wilson.”
- intransitive, transitiveTo play (a specific period of time) as the catcher.
“He caught the last three innings.”
- transitiveTo be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.).
“You're going to catch a beating if they find out.”
- transitiveTo be touched or affected by (something) through exposure.
“The sunlight caught the leaves and the trees turned to gold.”
“Her hair was caught by the light breeze.”
- transitiveTo become infected by (an illness).
“Everyone seems to be catching the flu this week.”
- intransitiveTo spread by infection or similar means.
“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 i”
- intransitive, transitiveTo receive or be affected by (wind, water, fire etc.).
“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.”
- transitiveTo acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or influence.
“She finally caught the mood of the occasion.”
“And the next thing I knew, I had caught feelings for her.”
- transitiveTo be hit by something.
“He caught a bullet in the back of the head last year.”
- intransitiveTo serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish.
“The nets caught well, and Mr. Deeley reported it the best fishing ground he ever tried.”
- intransitiveTo get pregnant.
“Well, if you didn't catch this time, we'll have more fun trying again until you do.”
- transitiveTo grasp mentally: perceive and understand.
“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”
- informal, transitiveTo take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment).
“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!”
- transitiveTo reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully.
“You've really caught his determination in this sketch.”
- transitiveTo charm or entrance.
“No, a far more natural beauty caught him.”
- transitiveTo attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense).
“He managed to catch her attention.”
“The enormous scarf did catch my eye.”
- To notice.
“-You made a typo. -Ah, thanks for catching that.”
Formscatches(plural) · catches(present, singular, third-person) · catching(participle, present) · caught(participle, past) · caught(past) · catch(infinitive) · catch(first-person, present, singular) · caught(first-person, past, singular) · catched(first-person, nonstandard, past, singular) · catch(present, second-person, singular) · catchest(archaic, present, second-person, singular) · caught(past, second-person, singular) · catched(nonstandard, past, second-person, singular) · caughtest(archaic, past, second-person, singular) · catchedst(archaic, past, second-person, singular) · catcheth(archaic, present, singular, third-person) · caught(past, singular, third-person) · catched(nonstandard, past, singular, third-person) · catch(plural, present) · caught(past, plural)