catch

Etymology

From Middle English cacchen, from Anglo-Norman cachier, variant of Old French chacier, from Late Latin captiāre, from Latin captāre, frequentative of capere. Akin to Modern French chasser (from Old French chacier) and Spanish cazar, and thus a doublet of chase. Displaced Middle English fangen ("to catch"; > Modern English fang (verb)), from Old English fōn (“to seize, take”); Middle English lacchen ("to catch" and heavily displaced Modern English latch), from Old English læċċan. The verb became irregular, possibly under the influence of the semantically similar latch (from Old English læċċan) whose past tense was lahte, lauhte, laught (Old English læhte) until becoming regularised in Modern English.

noun

1. (countable) The act of seizing or capturing.
   The catch of the perpetrator was the product of a year of police work.
2. (countable) The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.
   The player made an impressive catch.
   Nice catch!
3. (countable) The 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. 2008, John I. Carney, Soapstone, page 74
4. (uncountable) The game of catching a ball.
   The kids love to play catch.
5. (countable) Something which is captured or caught.
   The fishermen took pictures of their catch.
   The catch amounted to five tons of swordfish.
6. (countable, colloquial, by extension) A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.
   Did you see his latest catch?
   He's a good catch.
   Aaaugh! Just once, I wish I could be considered a catch by men younger than fifty... 10 July 2014, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 561 - A Catch
7. (countable) A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.
   She installed a sturdy catch to keep her cabinets closed tight.
8. (countable) A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.
   There was a catch in his voice when he spoke his father's name.
9. (countable, sometimes noun adjunct) A 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.
10. (countable) A 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.
11. (countable) A 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. 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page 266
    "'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 Ibbotson had never heard 'Fair Enslaver.' 1872, Harriet Martineau, Deerbrook, page 90
12. (obsolete) A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.
    You lie at the catch again: this is not for edification. 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress, Part I Section 3
13. (countable, agriculture) A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.
    There was a good catch of rye and a good fall growth. 1905, Eighth Biennial Report of the Board of Horticulture of the State of Oregon, page 204
14. (obsolete) A 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. 1612, John Smith, Map of Virginia, Kupperman, published 1988, page 158
15. (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.
    One night, I remember, we sang a catch, written (words and music) by Orlo Williams, for three voices. 1966, Allen Tate, T. S. Eliot: The Man and His Work, page 76
16. (countable, music) The 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. 2003, Robert Hugh Benson, Come Rack! Come Rope!, page 268
17. (countable, cricket, baseball) The 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. May 10 1997, Henry Blofeld, “Cricket: Rose and Burns revive Somerset”, in The Independent
18. (countable, cricket) A 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. September 16 1894, “To Meet Lord Hawke's Team”, in The New York Times, page 21
19. (countable, rowing) The 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. June 7 1935, Robert F. Kelley, “California Crews Impress at Debut”, in The New York Times, page 29
20. (countable, phonetics) A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.
    The glottal stop or glottal catch is the sound used in English in the informal words uh-huh 'yes' and uh-uh 'no'. 2006, Mitsugu Sakihara et al., Okinawan-English Wordbook
21. Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
    , Introduction the way it has been writ in, by catches, and many long intervals of interruption
22. A slight remembrance; a trace.

verb

1. (heading) To capture, overtake.
   1. (transitive) To 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.
   2. (transitive) To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive.
   3. (transitive, figurative, dated) To 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. 1933, Sinclair Lewis, Ann Vickers, page 108
      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 lightning rod[…]. 2006, Michael Collier, Georgia Machemer, Medea, page 23
   4. (transitive) To 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 threatened to shoot. September 28, 2011, Jon Smith, “Valencia 1-1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport
   5. (transitive) To 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? 2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1)
      For reasons I shan’t bore you with, I got them to induce me at 39 weeks, at 10am, with the epidural going in first, and it was all a dream. […] But it was all over in time for my daughter to catch the Nigeria v Argentina World Cup game that evening, during which she seemed to reckon everything was miles offside. 2014-12-05, Marina Hyde, “Childbirth is as awful as it is magical, thanks to our postnatal ‘care’”, in The Guardian
   6. (transitive) To 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.
   7. (transitive) To travel by means of.
      catch the bus
      After about a kilometer I caught a taxi to Santa Croce. 1987, A.J. Quinnell, In the Name of the Father, page 111
   8. (transitive, rare) To 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. 2002, Orpha Caton, Shadow on the Creek, pages 102–103
2. (heading) To seize hold of.
   1. (transitive, dated) To grab, seize, take hold of.
      I caught her by the arm and turned her to face me.
   2. (transitive) To 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.
   3. (transitive) To grip or entangle.
      My leg was caught in a tree-root.
   4. (intransitive) To 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.
   5. (intransitive) To 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.
   6. (transitive) To have something be held back or impeded.
      I caught my heel on the threshold.
   7. (intransitive) To make a grasping or snatching motion (at).
      He caught at the railing as he fell.
   8. (transitive) Of fire, to spread or be conveyed to.
      The fire spread slowly until it caught the eaves of the barn.
   9. (transitive, rowing) To 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. 1906, Arthur W. Stevens, Practical Rowing with Scull and Sweep, page 63
   10. (intransitive, agriculture) To germinate and set down roots.
       The seeds caught and grew.
   11. (transitive, surfing) To 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. 2001, John Lull, Sea Kayaking Safety & Rescue, page 203
   12. (transitive, computing) To handle an exception.
       When the program catches an exception, this is recorded in the log file.
3. (heading) To intercept.
   1. (transitive) To 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.
   2. (transitive, now rare) To seize (an opportunity) when it occurs.
   3. (transitive, cricket) To end a player's innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce.
      Townsend hit 29 before he was caught by Wilson.
   4. (transitive, intransitive, baseball) To play (a specific period of time) as the catcher.
      He caught the last three innings.
4. (heading) To receive (by being in the way).
   1. (transitive) To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.).
      You're going to catch a beating if they find out.
   2. (transitive) To 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.
   3. (transitive) To become infected by (an illness).
      Everyone seems to be catching the flu this week.
   4. (intransitive) To spread by infection or similar means.
      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 is catching." 1817, Mary Martha Sherwood, Stories Explanatory of the Church Catechism
   5. (transitive, intransitive) To 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. 2003, Jerry Dennis, The Living Great Lakes, page 63
   6. (transitive) To acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or infection.
      She finally caught the mood of the occasion.
      And the next thing I knew, I had caught feelings for her.
   7. (transitive) To be hit by something.
      He caught a bullet in the back of the head last year.
   8. (intransitive) To 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. 1877, Annual Report of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, page 135
   9. (intransitive) To get pregnant.
      Well, if you didn't catch this time, we'll have more fun trying again until you do.
5. (heading) To take in with one's senses or intellect.
   1. (transitive) To grasp mentally: perceive and understand.
      Did you catch his name?
      Did you catch the way she looked at him?
   2. (transitive, informal) To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment).
      I have some free time tonight so I think I'll catch a movie.
   3. (transitive) To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully.
      You've really caught his determination in this sketch.
6. (heading) To seize attention, interest.
   1. (transitive) To charm or entrance.
      No, a far more natural beauty caught him. 2004, Catherine Asaro, The Moon's Shadow, page 40
   2. (transitive) To attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense).
      He managed to catch her attention.
      The enormous scarf did catch my eye.