catch

The catch of the perpetrator was the product of a year of police work.

(countable) The act of seizing or capturing.

The player made an impressive catch.

Nice catch!

(countable) The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.

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:

(countable) The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.

The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.

The kids love to play catch.

(uncountable) The game of catching a ball.

The fishermen took pictures of their catch.

The catch amounted to five tons of swordfish.

(countable) Something which is captured or caught.

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..."

2014 July 10, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 561 - A Catch:

(countable, colloquial, by extension) A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.

She installed a sturdy catch to keep her cabinets closed tight.

(countable) A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.

There was a catch in his voice when he spoke his father's name.

(countable) A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.

A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.

It sounds like a great idea, but what's the catch?

Be careful, that's a catch question.

(countable, sometimes noun adjunct) A concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation.

I bent over to see under the table and got a catch in my side.

(countable) A crick; a sudden muscle pain during unaccustomed positioning when the muscle is in use.

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:

(countable) A fragment of music or poetry.

You lie at the catch again: this is not for edification.

1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress, Part I Section 3:

The common and the canon law […] lie at catch, and wait advantages one against another.

1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):

(obsolete) A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.

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:

(countable, agriculture) A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.

A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.

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:

(obsolete) A type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.

Let us be jocund: will you troll the catch / You taught me but while-ere?

1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

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:

(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.

The phrase repeated itself like the catch of a song.

2003, Robert Hugh Benson, Come Rack! Come Rope!, page 268:

(countable, music) The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse.

It was he who removed Peter Bowler with the help of a good catch at third slip.

1997 May 10, Henry Blofeld, “Cricket: Rose and Burns revive Somerset”, in The Independent:

(countable, cricket, baseball) The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.

[…] in the field he is all activity, covers an immense amount of ground, and is a sure catch.

1894 September 16, “To Meet Lord Hawke's Team”, in The New York Times, page 21:

(countable, cricket) A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.

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.

1935 June 7, Robert F. Kelley, “California Crews Impress at Debut”, in The New York Times, page 29:

(countable, rowing) The first contact of an oar with the water.

The first contact of an oar with the water.

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, →ISBN:

(countable, phonetics) A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.

A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.

, Introduction
the way it has been writ in, by catches, and many long intervals of interruption

We retain a catch of those pretty stories.

1665, Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica: Or, Confest Ignorance, the Way to Science; […], London: […] E. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC:

en-noun

catch (countable and uncountable, plural catches)

хващане

a find, in particular a boyfriend/girlfriend

резе

a clasp which stops something from opening

qurğu

a hidden difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation

разбиране

the act of noticing, understanding or hearing

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. Compare ketch. 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.

gloss

"to catch"; > Modern English fang (verb)

("to catch"; > Modern English fang (verb))


catch

I hope I catch a fish.

He ran but we caught him at the exit.

The police caught the robber at a nearby casino.

(transitive) To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape).

And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 12:13:

(transitive) To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive.

To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive.

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:

(transitive, figuratively, dated) To marry or enter into a similar relationship with.

To marry or enter into a similar relationship with.

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.

2011 September 28, Jon Smith, “Valencia 1-1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:

(transitive) To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc.

To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc.

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 December 5, Marina Hyde, “Childbirth is as awful as it is magical, thanks to our postnatal ‘care’”, in The Guardian:

(transitive) To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for.

To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for.

He was caught on video robbing the bank.

He was caught in the act of stealing a biscuit.

Once he caught me gazing lingeringly and eagerly at him. He turned round with that mocking air he assumed when he wanted to hide his feelings.

1952, Nikos Kazantzakis, chapter 1, in Carl Wildman, transl., Zorba the Greek, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, translation of Βίος και πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά [Víos kai politeía tou Aléxi Zormpá], →ISBN, page 5:

(transitive) To unpleasantly discover unexpectedly; to unpleasantly surprise (someone doing something).

catch the bus

The glare, the flies, while they waited, and he and the stationmaster put their heads together over the time-table, trying to find this other train, which, of course, they wouldn't catch.

1920, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “The Escape”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 273:

After about a kilometer I caught a taxi to Santa Croce.

1987, A.J. Quinnell, In the Name of the Father, page 111:

(heading) To capture, overtake.
(transitive) To travel by means of.

To capture, overtake.
To travel by means of.

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:

(transitive, rare) To become pregnant. (Only in past tense or as participle.)

To become pregnant. (Only in past tense or as participle.)

I caught her by the arm and turned her to face me.

Her aged Nourse, whose name was Glaucè hight, / Feeling her leape out of her loathed nest, / Betwixt her feeble armes her quickly keight […]

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

(transitive, dated) To grab, seize, take hold of.

To seize hold of.
To grab, seize, take hold of.

I have to stop for a moment and catch my breath

I caught some Z's on the train.

(transitive) To take or replenish something necessary, such as breath or sleep.

To take or replenish something necessary, such as breath or sleep.

My leg was caught in a tree-root.

(heading) To seize hold of.
(transitive) To grip or entangle.

Be careful your dress doesn't catch on that knob.

His voice caught when he came to his father's name.

Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

(intransitive) To be held back or impeded.

To seize hold of.
To be held back or impeded.

Push it in until it catches.

The engine finally caught and roared to life.

(intransitive) To engage with some mechanism; to stick, to succeed in interacting with something or initiating some process.

I caught my heel on the threshold.

(transitive) To have something be held back or impeded.

To have something be held back or impeded.

He caught at the railing as he fell.

(intransitive) To make a grasping or snatching motion (at).

To make a grasping or snatching motion (at).

The fire spread slowly until it caught the eaves of the barn.

(transitive, of fire) To spread or be conveyed to.

To seize hold of.
To spread or be conveyed to.

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:

(transitive, rowing) To grip (the water) with one's oars at the beginning of the stroke.

The seeds caught and grew.

(intransitive, agriculture) To germinate and set down roots.

To seize hold of.
To germinate and set down roots.

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:

(transitive, surfing) To contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore.

When the program catches an exception, this is recorded in the log file.

(transitive, computing) To handle an exception.

To seize hold of.
To handle an exception.

I will throw you the ball, and you catch it.

Watch me catch this raisin in my mouth.

(transitive) To seize or intercept an object moving through the air (or, sometimes, some other medium).

she internally resolved henceforward to catch every opportunity of eyeing the hair and of satisfying herself,[…].

1811, [Jane Austen], “18”, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

(transitive, now rare) To seize (an opportunity) when it occurs.

To seize (an opportunity) when it occurs.

Townsend hit 29 before he was caught by Wilson.

(transitive, cricket) To end a player's innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce.

He caught the last three innings.

(transitive, intransitive, baseball) To play (a specific period of time) as the catcher.

To play (a specific period of time) as the catcher.

You're going to catch a beating if they find out.

(heading) To receive (by being in the way).

(transitive) To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.).

To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.).

The sunlight caught the leaves and the trees turned to gold.

Her hair was caught by the light breeze.

(transitive) To be touched or affected by (something) through exposure.

To be touched or affected by (something) through exposure.

Everyone seems to be catching the flu this week.

(transitive) To become infected by (an illness).

To receive (by being in the way).
To become infected by (an illness).

Does the sedition catch from man to man?

1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, page 5:

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:

(intransitive) To spread by infection or similar means.

To spread by infection or similar means.

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:

(transitive, intransitive) To receive or be affected by (wind, water, fire etc.).

To receive or be affected by (wind, water, fire etc.).

She finally caught the mood of the occasion.

And the next thing I knew, I had caught feelings for her.

(transitive) To acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or infection.

He caught a bullet in the back of the head last year.

To receive (by being in the way).
To be hit by something.

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:

(intransitive) To serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish.

Well, if you didn't catch this time, we'll have more fun trying again until you do.

To receive (by being in the way).
To get pregnant.

Did you catch his name?

Did you catch the way she looked at him?

“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

(heading) To take in with one's senses or intellect.

(transitive) To grasp mentally: perceive and understand.

To take in with one's senses or intellect.

To grasp mentally: perceive and understand.

I have some free time tonight so I think I'll catch a movie.

(transitive, informal) To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment).

To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment).

You've really caught his determination in this sketch.

(transitive) To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully.

To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully.

No, a far more natural beauty caught him.

2004, Catherine Asaro, The Moon's Shadow, page 40:

(heading) To seize attention, interest.
(transitive) To charm or entrance.

To seize attention, interest.
To charm or entrance.

He managed to catch her attention.

The enormous scarf did catch my eye.

(transitive) To attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense).

To attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense).

en-verb

catch (third-person singular simple present catches, present participle catching, simple past and past participle caught)

catches (present singular third-person)
catching (participle present)
caught (participle past)
caught (past)
catch (infinitive)

caught with one's fingers in the cookie jar

don't sell the skin till you have caught the bear

you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar

you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar

you catch more flies with honey than vinegar

you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar

→ French: catch

→ Kabuverdianu:

→ Portuguese: cachir

→ Spanish: cachar

siepata

to handle a computer error, especially an exception