catch

Definitions

1. 1.To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief. "They pursued . . . and caught him." Judg. i.
2. 2.3. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish.
3. 3.Hence: To insnare; to entangle. "To catch him in his words". Mark xii.
4. 4.5. To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody. "Fiery thoughts . . . whereof I catch the issue." Tennyson.
5. 5.To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building.
6. 6.To engage and attach; to please; to charm. The soothing arts that catch the fair. Dryden.
7. 7.To get possession of; to attain. Torment myself to catch the English throne. Shak.
8. 8.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.
9. 9.To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.
10. 10.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.
11. 11.To attain possession. [Obs.] Have is have, however men do catch. Shak.
12. 12.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.
13. 13.To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch.
14. 14.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 egger to get or use. "[To] catch at all opportunities of subverting the state." Addison. -- To catch up with, to come up with; to overtake.
15. 15.Act of seizing; a grasp. Sir P. Sidney.
16. 16.That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened; as, the catch of a gate.
17. 17.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.
18. 18.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.
19. 19.Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony. [Colloq.] Marryat.
20. 20.pl. Passing opportunities seized; snatches. It has been writ by catches with many intervals. Locke.
21. 21.A slight remembrance; a trace. We retain a catch of those pretty stories. Glanvill.
22. 22.(Mus.) A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "catch" mean?
• What is another word for "catch"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is catch.

• What is to seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief. "They pursued . . . and caught him." Judg. i called?
• What is 3. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish called?
• What is hence: To insnare; to entangle. "To catch him in his words". Mark xii called?
• What is 5. To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody. "Fiery thoughts . . . whereof I catch the issue." Tennyson called?
• What is to communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building called?
• What is to engage and attach; to please; to charm. The soothing arts that catch the fair. Dryden called?
• What is to get possession of; to attain. Torment myself to catch the English throne. Shak called?
• What is 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 called?
• What is to come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing called?
• What is to attain possession. [Obs.] Have is have, however men do catch. Shak called?
• What is 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 called?
• What is to take hold; as, the bolt does not catch called?
• What is that by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened; as, the catch of a gate called?
• What is something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony. [Colloq.] Marryat called?
• What is pl. Passing opportunities seized; snatches. It has been writ by catches with many intervals. Locke called?
• What is a slight remembrance; a trace. We retain a catch of those pretty stories. Glanvill called?
• What is a humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words called?