Thesaurus: catch

Related headwords

Definitions

1. v. t. 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. v. t. To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief.
3. v. t. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish.
4. v. t. Hence: To insnare; to entangle.
5. v. t. To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody.
6. v. t. To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building.
7. v. t. To engage and attach; to please; to charm.
8. v. t. To get possession of; to attain.
9. v. t. 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. v. t. To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.
11. v. t. To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train.
12. v. i. To attain possession.
13. v. i. 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.
14. v. i. To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch.
15. v. i. To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate.
16. n. Act of seizing; a grasp.
17. n. That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened; as, the catch of a gate.
18. n. 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.
19. n. That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the whole quantity caught or taken at one time; as, a good catch of fish.
20. n. Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony.
21. n. Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
22. n. A slight remembrance; a trace.
23. n. A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.