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Catch   /kætʃ/   Listen
verb
Catch  v. t.  (past & past part. caught; pres. part. catching; catched is rarely used)  
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."
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".
5.
To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody. "Fiery thoughts... whereof I catch the issue."
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."
8.
To get possession of; to attain. "Torment myself to catch the English throne."
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."
To catch up, to snatch; to take up suddenly.


Catch  v. i.  (past & past part. caught; pres. part. catching; catched is rarely used)  
1.
To attain possession. (Obs.) "Have is have, however men do catch."
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?"
To catch at, to attempt to seize; to be eager to get or use. "(To) catch at all opportunities of subverting the state."
To catch up with, to come up with; to overtake.


noun
Catch  n.  
1.
Act of seizing; a grasp.
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) "The common and the canon law... lie at catch, and wait advantages one againt another."
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."
5.
Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony. (Colloq.)
6.
pl. Passing opportunities seized; snatches. "It has been writ by catches with many intervals."
7.
A slight remembrance; a trace. "We retain a catch of those pretty stories."
8.
(Mus.) A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Catch" Quotes from Famous Books



... ill," said Malcolm to himself. He was just near enough, on the pawing and foaming Kelpie, to catch what was passing.— "The fallow 'll du. He's worth a score o' ...
— The Marquis of Lossie • George MacDonald
... with one hand easily. The hedge being low he could see it coming; but guns are sometimes heaved in this way over hedges that have not been cropped for years. Then the gun suddenly appears in the air, perhaps fifteen feet high, while the catch depends not only upon the dexterity of the hand but the ear—to judge correctly where the person who throws it is standing, as he ...
— The Amateur Poacher • Richard Jefferies
... is called to-day, for you know not how much you may be hindered to-morrow. 'One to-day is worth two to-morrows,' as Poor Richard says; and farther, 'Never leave that till to-morrow which you can do to-day.' If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle? Are you then your own master? Be ashamed to catch yourself idle, when there is so much to be done for yourself, your family, your country, and your king. Handle your tools without mittens; remember, that 'the cat in gloves catches no mice,' as Poor Richard says. It is true ...
— Brave Men and Women - Their Struggles, Failures, And Triumphs • O.E. Fuller
... him, do you hear? He may wish I had; by the time I get through with him—I'll beat the living hell out of him; I'll cram my fists down his throat. But I'll settle it with him like an Earthman. I won't kill him. Hear me, Juli? Because that's the worst thing I could do to him—catch him and let ...
— The Door Through Space • Marion Zimmer Bradley
... foreshortened it, and gave to its low arc the emphasis of a curve, the vivacity of a dimple (Anne's under lip was straight as the tense string of a bow). When she spoke or smiled Anne's mole seemed literally to catch up her lip against its will, on purpose to show the small white teeth below. Majendie loved Anne's mole. It was that one charming and emphatic fault in her face, he said, that made it human. But Anne was ...
— The Helpmate • May Sinclair


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