English English Dictionary

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.

To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief.

To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish.

Hence: To insnare; to entangle.

To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody.

To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building.

To engage and attach; to please; to charm.

To get possession of; to attain.

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.

To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.

To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train.

To attain possession.

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.

To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch.

To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate.

Act of seizing; a grasp.

That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened; as, the catch of a gate.

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.

That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the whole quantity caught or taken at one time; as, a good catch of fish.

Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony.

Passing opportunities seized; snatches.

A slight remembrance; a trace.

A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.