Catch word meaning and definition

[noun] the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal); "the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar"
[noun] the act of catching an object with the hands; "Mays made the catch with his back to the plate"
[noun] a cooperative game in which a ball is passed back and forth; "he played catch with his son in the backyard"
[noun] a fastener that fastens or locks a door or window
[noun] a restraint that checks the motion of something; "he used a book as a stop to hold the door open"
[noun] a hidden drawback; "it sounds good but what's the catch?"
[noun] a break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong emotion)
[noun] anything that is caught (especially if it is worth catching); "he shared his catch with the others"
[noun] a person regarded as a good matrimonial prospect
[noun] the quantity that was caught; "the catch was only 10 fish"
[verb] contract; "did you catch a cold?"
[verb] delay or hold up; prevent from proceeding on schedule or as planned; "I was caught in traffic and missed the meeting"
[verb] be struck or affected by; "catch fire"; "catch the mood"
[verb] grasp with the mind; "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"
[verb] detect a blunder or misstep; "The reporter tripped up the senator"
[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"
[verb] become aware of; "he caught her staring out the window"
[verb] be the catcher, in baseball; "Who is catching?"
[verb] catch up with and possibly overtake; "The Rolls Royce caught us near the exit ramp"
[verb] succeed in catching or seizing, , esp. after a chase; "We finally got the suspect"; "Did you catch the thief?"
[verb] to hook or entangle; "One foot caught in the stirrup"
[verb] cause to become accidentally or suddenly caught, ensnared, or entangled; "I caught the hem of my dress in the brambles"
[verb] spread or be communicated; "The fashion did not catch"
[verb] reach with a blow or hit in a particular spot; "the rock caught her in the back of the head"; "The blow got him in the back"; "The punch caught him in the stomach"
[verb] take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of; "Catch the ball!"; "Grab the elevator door!"
[verb] capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping; "I caught a rabbit in the trap toady"
[verb] take in and retain; "We have a big barrel to catch the rainwater"
[verb] attract and fix; "His look caught her"; "She caught his eye"; "Catch the attention of the waiter"
[verb] apprehend and reproduce accurately; "She really caught the spirit of the place in her drawings"; "She got the mood just right in her photographs"

\Catch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Caught}or {Catched}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Catching}. Catched is rarely used.] [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 eager 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. 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.) A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.

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