verb | noun
catchcatch1 /kætʃ/ ●●● S1 W1 verb (past tense and past participle caught /kɔt/) 1
TAKE AND HOLD a)[intransitive, transitive] to get hold of and stop an object such as a ball that is moving through the air: Denise caught the bride’s bouquet. “Can I borrow that pen?” “Sure, catch.” Taylor caught ten passes and ran for 180 yards. b)[transitive] to suddenly take hold of someone or something: Go on, jump. I’ll catch you. Rob caught hold of my sleeve and pulled me back.2FIND/STOP somebody [transitive] a)to stop someone after you have been chasing them, and so prevent them from escaping SYN capture: “You can’t catch me!” she yelled. soldiers who have been caught by the enemy b)if the police catch a criminal, they find the criminal and stop him or her from escaping SYN capture: State police have launched a massive operation to catch the murderer. A lot of burglars never get caught.3ANIMAL/FISH [transitive] to trap an animal or fish by using a trap, net, or hook, or by hunting it: “We went fishing.” “Did you catch anything?” The cat caught a squirrel!4SEE somebody DOING something [transitive] to see someone doing something that they did not want you to know they were doing: catch somebody doing something If you get caught stealing you will lose your job. Jean turned around and caught him looking at her intently. Milian was caught red-handed (=caught while doing something wrong) attempting to break into a house. Several graffiti artists were caught in the act (=caught while doing something wrong) on the Brown River bridge. He’d tried to steal some money from the register, and got caught at it.5ILLNESS [transitive] to get a disease or illness: Dion caught a cold on vacation. Many young people are still ignorant about how HIV is caught.catch something from somebody The vet says you can’t catch the disease from the cat.6NOTICE [transitive not in progressive] to see, smell, or notice something: It was a really stupid mistake; I’m surprised Rachel didn’t catch it. Oh, you caught the sarcasm in my voice, huh? Hundreds of fans were eagerly trying to catch a glimpse of their idol. We suddenly caught sight of the ocean. Ugh, did you catch a whiff of his aftershave (=notice the smell of it)?7catch somebody by surprise/catch somebody off guard (also catch somebody napping/unawares) to do something or to happen when someone is not expecting it so that they are not ready to deal with it: The demand for the book caught the publisher by surprise. The public’s reaction obviously caught the governor off guard.8catch a train/plane/bus to get on a train, etc. in order to travel, or to arrive early enough to get on it before it leaves: Kevin catches the bus home on Mondays and Wednesdays. I should be able to catch the 12:05 train. He had a plane to catch later that evening.9catch somebody’s attention/interest/imagination etc. if something catches your attention, etc., you notice it or feel interested in it: Rainey first caught Coach O'Malley’s attention at a football camp. It’s a story that will catch the imagination of every child.10IN A BAD SITUATION be caught in/without etc. (also get caught in/without etc.) to be in a situation that you cannot easily get out of, or in which you do not have what you need: Jeff got caught in a snow storm. You don’t want to get caught without a diaper or a bottle of milk.11NOT MISS somebody/something [transitive] to be early enough to see something, talk to someone, do something, etc. OPP miss: If you call around 8:30, you might catch Shirley. This type of cancer is curable if it is caught early. I only caught about the last 20 minutes of the movie.12GET STUCK [intransitive, transitive usually passive] if your hand, finger, clothing, etc. catches or is caught in something, it becomes stuck or fastened there accidentally: My pant leg caught on the fence and tore. Steph’s hair got caught in the machine, and they had to cut it.13DESCRIBE WELL [transitive] to accurately show or describe the character or quality of something in a picture, piece of writing, etc. SYN capture: The novel catches the hardships of pioneer life.14BURN a)catch fire if something catches fire, it starts to burn accidentally: One of the engines caught fire. b)[intransitive] if a fire catches, it starts to burn: For some reason the charcoal isn’t catching.15catch somebody’s eye a)to attract someone’s attention and make them look at something: All of a sudden, something red caught Barb’s eye. b)to look at someone at the same moment that they are looking at you: I caught Ben’s eye in the rear-view mirror and knew what he was thinking.16catch yourself a)to suddenly realize that you are doing something: catch yourself doing something I caught myself watching everybody else instead of paying attention to the lecture. b)to stop yourself from doing something quickly: I was about to correct him, but I caught myself in time.17catch your breath a)to pause for a moment after a lot of physical effort in order to breathe normally again: Clark had to sit down to catch his breath. b)to stop breathing for a moment because something has surprised, frightened, or shocked you c)to take some time to stop and think about what you will do next after having been very busy or active: The students then have reading time, allowing the teacher to catch her breath.SPOKEN PHRASES18HEAR/UNDERSTAND [transitive usually in questions or negatives] to hear or understand what someone says: I didn’t catch his first name. It’s a really funny play, but it goes too fast to catch all the jokes. Well, Jerry’s not at Sue’s apartment to play games, if you catch my drift (=used when you are saying something indirectly, and want to check that someone understands this).19DO SOMETHING [transitive] to go somewhere to do something: I caught their act (=saw them perform) at the Blue Note Jazz Club. Would you like to go to dinner, maybe catch a movie (=go to a movie)? Can I catch a ride with you (=go in your car)? I’m gonna try and catch some z’s (=sleep).20catch you later used to say goodbye: Okay, Randy, catch you later.21you won’t catch me doing something used to say that you would never do something: You won’t catch me ironing his shirts!22catch it old-fashioned to be punished very severely by a parent or teacher who discovers that you have done something bad: Dylan’s going to catch it when Mom gets home.23HIT [transitive] to hit someone: The branch sprang back, catching him in the face. Tyson’s punch caught him on the chin.24CONTAINER [transitive] if a container catches liquid, it is in a position where the liquid falls into it: We had to put a bucket under the old sink to catch the dripping water.25SHINE/LIGHT [transitive] if light catches something or if something catches the light, the light shines on it and makes it look bright: The sunlight caught her hair and turned it to gold.26WIND [transitive] if something catches the wind or the wind catches something, it blows on it: Turn the boat so the sails catch the wind.[Origin: 1100–1200 Old North French cachier to hunt, from Latin captare to try to catch]catch at something phrasal verb literary to try to take hold of something: The old man caught at Jason’s wrist.catch on phrasal verb1to begin to understand or realize something: Usually a couple of the children will catch on quickly and help the others.catch on to The police finally caught on to what he was doing.2to become popular and fashionable: Mountain bikes caught on quickly and soon made up the bulk of bicycle sales.catch somebody out phrasal verb if something catches you out, you are not expecting it and so are not prepared for it: We got caught out without our umbrellas.catch up phrasal verb1to reach the same standard as other people in your class, group, etc.: I missed a lot of school, and it was really hard to catch up.catch up with The U.S. spent a lot of money trying to catch up with the Soviet Union in space exploration.2to come from behind and reach someone in front by going faster: We had to run to catch up.catch up with/to You go ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a minute.3be/get caught up in something to be or become involved in something, especially something bad: We get caught up in the commercial aspects of Christmas.4to spend time finding out what has been happening during the time you have not seen someone: catch up with Spend some time catching up with your kids at the dinner table.catch up on something phrasal verb to do something that needs to be done, that you have not had time to do before: I’ll finally get a chance to catch up on some sleep. It’ll take a couple of days to get caught up on all this paperwork.catch up with somebody phrasal verb1to find someone who has been doing something illegal and punish them, after trying to find them for a long time: The IRS finally caught up with him.2if something bad catches up with you, you cannot avoid it anymore: All that junk food will catch up with you someday (=it will start affecting your health). verb | noun
catchcatch2 ●●○ noun 1[countable] the act of catching something that has been thrown or hit: That was a great catch!2[uncountable] a game in which two or more people throw a ball to each other: The boys are out back playing catch.3[countable] informal a hidden problem or difficulty: The deal comes with a catch – you have to buy one before June. There is a catch – you only get the bonus if sales go up. The airfare is great, but the catch is that you have a four-hour stopover in St. Louis. The whole thing almost sounds too simple. What’s the catch?4[countable] a hook or something similar that fastens something and holds it closed: The catch on my necklace is broken.5[countable] an amount of fish that has been caught6a catch in your voice/throat a short pause you make while speaking, because you feel very upset or are beginning to cry: With a catch in his voice, Dan told her how proud he was.7be a good catch old-fashioned if a man is a good catch, he is regarded as a very desirable husband, because he is rich and good-looking