Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Catch \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.
Catch \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 \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.
Source : WordNet®
catch
v 1: 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"
2: 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" [syn: {pick up}]
3: 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" [syn: {get}]
4: take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion
of; "Catch the ball!"; "Grab the elevator door!" [syn: {grab},
{take hold of}]
5: succeed in catching or seizing, especially after a chase;
"We finally got the suspect"; "Did you catch the thief?"
[syn: {get}, {capture}]
6: to hook or entangle; "One foot caught in the stirrup" [syn:
{hitch}] [ant: {unhitch}]
7: attract and fix; "His look caught her"; "She caught his
eye"; "Catch the attention of the waiter" [syn: {arrest},
{get}]
8: capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping; "I caught a
rabbit in the trap toady" [syn: {capture}]
9: reach in time; "I have to catch a train at 7 o'clock"
10: get or regain something necessary, usually quickly or
briefly; "Catch some sleep"; "catch one's breath"
11: catch up with and possibly overtake; "The Rolls Royce caught
us near the exit ramp" [syn: {overtake}, {catch up with}]
12: be struck or affected by; "catch fire"; "catch the mood"
13: check oneself during an action; "She managed to catch
herself before telling her boss what was on her mind"
14: hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers; "We
overheard the conversation at the next table" [syn: {take
in}, {overhear}]
15: 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" [syn: {watch},
{view}, {see}, {take in}]
16: cause to become accidentally or suddenly caught, ensnared,
or entangled; "I caught the hem of my dress in the
brambles"
17: detect a blunder or misstep; "The reporter tripped up the
senator" [syn: {trip up}]
18: grasp with the mind or develop an undersatnding 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"
[syn: {get}]
19: contract; "did you catch a cold?"
20: start burning; "The fire caught"
21: perceive by hearing; "I didn't catch your name"; "She didn't
get his name when they met the first time" [syn: {get}]
22: suffer from the receipt of; "She will catch hell for this
behavior!" [syn: {get}]
23: attract; cause to be enamored; "She captured all the men's
hearts" [syn: {capture}, {enamour}, {trance}, {becharm},
{enamor}, {captivate}, {beguile}, {charm}, {fascinate}, {bewitch},
{entrance}, {enchant}]
24: apprehend and reproduce accurately; "She really caught the
spirit of the place in her drawings"; "She got the mood
just right in her photographs" [syn: {get}]
25: take in and retain; "We have a big barrel to catch the
rainwater"
26: spread or be communicated; "The fashion did not catch"
27: be the catcher; "Who is catching?"
28: become aware of; "he caught her staring out the window"
29: delay or hold up; prevent from proceeding on schedule or as
planned; "I was caught in traffic and missed the meeting"
[also: {caught}]
catch
n 1: a hidden drawback; "it sounds good but what's the catch?"
2: the quantity that was caught; "the catch was only 10 fish"
[syn: {haul}]
3: a person regarded as a good matrimonial prospect [syn: {match}]
4: anything that is caught (especially if it is worth
catching); "he shared his catch with the others"
5: a break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong
emotion)
6: a restraint that checks the motion of something; "he used a
book as a stop to hold the door open" [syn: {stop}]
7: a fastener that fastens or locks a door or window
8: a cooperative game in which a ball is passed back and forth;
"he played catch with his son in the backyard"
9: 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" [syn: {grab}, {snatch}, {snap}]
10: the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a
criminal); "the policeman on the beat got credit for the
collar" [syn: {apprehension}, {arrest}, {collar}, {pinch},
{taking into custody}]
[also: {caught}]