Catch — Defs

01 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.

imp. & p. p. Caught; p. pr. & vb. n. Catching

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.
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.
5.
To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody.
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.

Phrases & compounds

To catch fire — to become inflamed or ignited.

to catch it — to get a scolding or beating; to suffer punishment.

To catch one's eye — to interrupt captiously while speaking.

To catch up — to snatch; to take up suddenly.

02 v. i. To attain possession.

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.

Phrases & compounds

To catch at — to attempt to seize; to be eager to get or use.

To catch up with — to come up with; to overtake.

03 n. Act of seizing; a grasp.

1.
Act of seizing; a grasp.
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]
“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.]
6.
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.
A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.(Mus.)