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From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Vulgar Latin captus
Proto-Indo-European *-yetider.
Vulgar Latin -io
Vulgar Latin *captiāre
Old French chacierbor.
Anglo-Norman cachierbor.
Middle English cacchen
English catch

    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. Via PIE cognate with have. 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.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    catch (countable and uncountable, plural catches)

    1. (countable) The act of seizing or capturing.
      The catch of the perpetrator was the product of a year of police work.
    2. (countable) The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.
      The player made an impressive catch.
      Nice catch!
    3. (countable) The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.
      Good catch. I never would have remembered that.
      • 2008, John I. Carney, Soapstone, page 74:
        "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.
    4. (uncountable) The game of catching a ball.
      The kids love to play catch.
    5. (countable) Something which is captured or caught.
      The fishermen took pictures of their catch.
      The catch amounted to five tons of swordfish.
    6. (countable, colloquial, by extension) A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.
      Did you see his latest catch?
      He's a good catch.
      • 1922 August 1, “London Concerts”, in The Musical Times:
        Mr. Alfred O'Shea, a tenorizing youth from Australia, sang several times at Queen's Hall, and may congratulate himself on being one of the ‘catches’ of the season. He sang airs from Italian and French operas, and also a number of Irish ditties—naturally, with a name like that and such an ingratiating McCormackian voice.
      • 2014 July 10, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 561 - A Catch:
        "Aaaugh! Just once, I wish I could be considered a catch by men younger than fifty..."
    8. (countable) A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.
      She installed a sturdy catch to keep her cabinets closed tight.
    9. (countable) A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.
      There was a catch in his voice when he spoke his father's name.
    10. (countable, sometimes noun adjunct) A concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation.
      Synonym: hitch
      It sounds like a great idea, but what's the catch?
      Be careful, that's a catch question.
    11. (countable) A crick; a sudden muscle pain during unaccustomed positioning when the muscle is in use.
      I bent over to see under the table and got a catch in my side.
    12. (countable) A fragment of music or poetry.
      • 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion‎[2], page 266:
        In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.
      • 1872, Harriet Martineau, Deerbrook, page 90:
        "'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.'
    13. (obsolete) A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.
      • 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress, Part I Section 3:
        You lie at the catch again: this is not for edification.
      • 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):
        The common and the canon law […] lie at catch, and wait advantages one against another.
    14. (countable, agriculture) A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.
      • 1905, Eighth Biennial Report of the Board of Horticulture of the State of Oregon‎[3], page 204:
        There was a good catch of rye and a good fall growth.
    15. (obsolete) A type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.
      • 1612, John Smith, Map of Virginia, Kupperman, published 1988, page 158:
        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.
    17. (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.
      • 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]:
        Let us be jocund: will you troll the catch / You taught me but while-ere?
      • 1966, Allen Tate, T. S. Eliot: The Man and His Work‎[4], page 76:
        One night, I remember, we sang a catch, written (words and music) by Orlo Williams, for three voices.
    18. (countable, music) The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse.
      • 2003, Robert Hugh Benson, Come Rack! Come Rope!‎[5], page 268:
        The phrase repeated itself like the catch of a song.
    20. (countable, cricket, baseball) The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.
      • 1997 May 10, Henry Blofeld, “Cricket: Rose and Burns revive Somerset”, in The Independent‎[6]:
        It was he who removed Peter Bowler with the help of a good catch at third slip.
    21. (countable, cricket) A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.
      • 1894 September 16, “To Meet Lord Hawke's Team”, in The New York Times‎[7], page 21:
        […] in the field he is all activity, covers an immense amount of ground, and is a sure catch.
    22. (countable, rowing) The first contact of an oar with the water.
      • 1935 June 7, Robert F. Kelley, “California Crews Impress at Debut”, in The New York Times‎[8], page 29:
        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.
    23. (countable, phonetics) A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.
      • 1891 February–December, Robert Louis Stevenson, In the South Seas […], New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1896, →OCLC:
        When a Scot pronounces water, better, or bottle—wa’er, be’er, or bo’le—the sound is precisely that of the catch; […] .
      • 2006, Mitsugu Sakihara et al., Okinawan-English Wordbook‎[9], →ISBN:
        The glottal stop or glottal catch is the sound used in English in the informal words uh-huh 'yes' and uh-uh 'no'.
    24. Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
    25. A slight remembrance; a trace.
      • 1665, Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica: Or, Confest Ignorance, the Way to Science; […], London: […] E. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC:
        We retain a catch of those pretty stories.

    Synonyms

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    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Verb

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

    1. (heading) To capture, overtake.
      1. (transitive) To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape). [from 13th c.]
        I hope I catch a fish.
        He ran but we caught him at the exit.
        The police caught the robber at a nearby casino.
      2. (transitive) To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive. [from 14th c.]
      3. (transitive, figuratively, dated) To marry or enter into a similar relationship with.
        • 1933, Sinclair Lewis, Ann Vickers‎[10], page 108:
          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.
        • 1990 February 4, Vanessa Nemeth, Stephanie Poggi, “Bumps And All”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 12:
          "She caught this blanquito guy from El Condado," and you immediately know "My god, all that money."
        • 2006, Michael Collier, Georgia Machemer, Medea‎[11], page 23:
          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 […].
      4. (transitive) To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc. [from 16th c.]
        If he catches you on the chin, you'll be on the mat.
        • 2011 September 28, Jon Smith, “Valencia 1-1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:
          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.
      5. (transitive) To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for. [from 17th c.]
        If you leave now you might catch him.
        I would love to have dinner but I have to catch a plane.
        • 2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1):
          Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Did anyone catch the Charlie Rose the evening before last. Did you catch it? No, nothing?
        • 2014 December 5, Marina Hyde, “Childbirth is as awful as it is magical, thanks to our postnatal ‘care’”, in The Guardian‎[12]:
          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.
      6. (transitive) To unpleasantly discover unexpectedly; to unpleasantly surprise (someone doing something). [from 17th c.]
        He was caught on video robbing the bank.
        He was caught in the act of stealing a biscuit.
        • 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:
          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.
      8. (transitive) To travel by means of. [from 19th c.]
        catch the bus
        • 1920, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “The Escape”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 273:
          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.
        • 1987, A.J. Quinnell, In the Name of the Father‎[13], page 111:
          After about a kilometer I caught a taxi to Santa Croce.
      9. (transitive, rare) To become pregnant. (Only in past tense or as participle.) [from 19th c.]
        • 2002, Orpha Caton, Shadow on the Creek‎[14], pages 102–103:
          Had Nancy got caught with a child? If so she would destroy her parent's dreams for her.
    2. (heading) To seize hold of.
      1. (transitive, dated) To grab, seize, take hold of. [from 13th c.]
        I caught her by the arm and turned her to face me.
      2. (transitive) To take or replenish something necessary, such as breath or sleep. [from 14th c.]
        I have to stop for a moment and catch my breath
        I caught some Z's on the train.
      3. (transitive) To grip or entangle. [from 17th c.]
        My leg was caught in a tree-root.
        • 1708, J[oseph] B[oyse], “Sin the Instrument of the Sinners Punishment. From II. Jerem[iah] 19.”, in Sermons Preach’d on Various Subjects […], Dublin: […] S. Powell, for the use of the author, →OCLC, page 246:
          So Abſalom took a Pride in his Beauty, and particularly in his long Hair. And Providence ſo orders it, that in his Rebellion againſt his Father [David], vvhen he had loſt the Day, this Hair in his Flight catches on the Bough of a Tree, vvhere Joab found and ſlevv him.
      4. (intransitive) To be held back or impeded.
        Be careful your dress doesn't catch on that knob.
        His voice caught when he came to his father's name.
        • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
          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.
      5. (intransitive) To engage with some mechanism; to stick, to succeed in interacting with something or initiating some process.
        Push it in until it catches.
        The engine finally caught and roared to life.
      6. (transitive) To have something be held back or impeded.
        I caught my heel on the threshold.
      7. (intransitive) To make a grasping or snatching motion (at). [from 17th c.]
        He caught at the railing as he fell.
      8. (transitive, of fire) To spread or be conveyed to. [from 18th c.]
        • 1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 247, lines 409–412:
          The Palace of Deiphobus aſcends / In ſmoaky Flames, and catches on his Friends. / Ucalegon burns next; the Seas are bright / VVith ſplendor, not their ovvn; and ſhine vvith Trojan light.
        The fire spread slowly until it caught the eaves of the barn.
      9. (transitive, rowing) To grip (the water) with one's oars at the beginning of the stroke. [from 19th c.]
        • 1906, Arthur W. Stevens, Practical Rowing with Scull and Sweep‎[15], page 63:
          Stop gathering, in that gradual fashion, and catch the water sharply and decisively.
      11. (intransitive, agriculture) To germinate and set down roots. [from 19th c.]
        The seeds caught and grew.
      12. (transitive, surfing) To contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore.
        • 2001, John Lull, Sea Kayaking Safety & Rescue‎[16], page 203:
          If you are surfing a wave through the rocks, make sure you have a clear route before catching the wave.
      13. (transitive, computing) To handle an exception. [from 20th c.]
        When the program catches an exception, this is recorded in the log file.
    3. (heading) To intercept.
      1. (transitive) To seize or intercept an object moving through the air (or, sometimes, some other medium). [from 16th c.]
        I will throw you the ball, and you catch it.
        Watch me catch this raisin in my mouth.
      2. (transitive, now rare) To seize (an opportunity) when it occurs. [from 16th c.]
      3. (transitive, cricket) To end a player's innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce. [from 18th c.]
        Townsend hit 29 before he was caught by Wilson.
      4. (transitive, intransitive, baseball) To play (a specific period of time) as the catcher. [from 19th c.]
        He caught the last three innings.
    4. (heading) To receive (by being in the way).
      1. (transitive) To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.). [from 13th c.]
        You're going to catch a beating if they find out.
      2. (transitive) To be touched or affected by (something) through exposure. [from 13th c.]
        The sunlight caught the leaves and the trees turned to gold.
        Her hair was caught by the light breeze.
      4. (transitive, informal) To become infected by (an illness). [from 16th c.]
        Synonyms: contract, acquire
        Near-synonym: come down with
        Everyone seems to be catching the flu this week.
      5. (intransitive) To spread by infection or similar means.
        • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 31:
          Does the sedition catch from man to man?
        • 1817, Mary Martha Sherwood, Stories Explanatory of the Church Catechism:
          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."
      6. (transitive, intransitive) To receive or be affected by (wind, water, fire etc.). [from 18th c.]
        The bucket catches water from the downspout.
        The trees caught quickly in the dry wind.
        • 2003, Jerry Dennis, The Living Great Lakes‎[17], page 63:
          the sails caught and filled, and the boat jumped to life beneath us.
        • 2008 June 9, Alastair Macaulay, “In Student Steps and Leaps, a Survey of National Styles”, in The New York Times‎[18], archived from the original on 28 January 2025:
          And the Bolshoi Ballet Academy’s account of the Grand Pas Classique from “Paquita” […] exemplified the spectacular czarist ideal of ballet that has long since became widely accepted as “classical ballet.” […] It catches an American athleticism and energetic team spirit that still seem to smash European notions of ballet classicism, as does its dancers’ selfless manner and their practicelike costumes.
      7. (transitive) To acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or influence. [from 16th c.]
        She finally caught the mood of the occasion.
        And the next thing I knew, I had caught feelings for her.
      8. (transitive) To be hit by something.
        He caught a bullet in the back of the head last year.
      9. (intransitive) To serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish.
      10. (intransitive) To get pregnant.
        Well, if you didn't catch this time, we'll have more fun trying again until you do.
    5. (heading) To take in with one's senses or intellect.
      1. (transitive) To grasp mentally: perceive and understand. [from 16th c.]
        Synonyms: grasp, get
        Did you catch his name?
        Did you catch the way she looked at him?
        • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
          “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.
      2. (transitive, informal) To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment). [from 20th c.]
        I have some free time tonight so I think I'll catch a movie.
        • 2022 January 31, 0:00 from the start, in Tom Holland & Mark Wahlberg Wishes Gong Xi Fa Cai!‎[19], GSCinemas, archived from the original on 12 February 2022:
          Tom Holland: Gong Xi Fa Cai! It's Tom Holland here. // Mark Wahlberg: And I'm Mark Wahlberg. Catch us in Uncharted this Chinese New Year at GSC. // Tom Holland: Gong Xi Fa Cai!
      3. (transitive) To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully. [from 17th c.]
        You've really caught his determination in this sketch.
    6. (heading) To seize attention, interest.
      1. (transitive) To charm or entrance. [from 14th c.]
        • 2004, Catherine Asaro, The Moon's Shadow‎[20], page 40:
          No, a far more natural beauty caught him.
      2. (transitive) To attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense). [from 17th c.]
        He managed to catch her attention.
        The enormous scarf did catch my eye.
    7. To notice.
      -You made a typo. -Ah, thanks for catching that.

    Usage notes

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    • The older past and passive participle catched is now nonstandard.

    Conjugation

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    Conjugation of catch
    infinitive (to) catch
    present tense past tense
    1st-person singular catch caught, catched1
    2nd-person singular catch, catchest† caught, catched1, caughtest†, catchedst†
    3rd-person singular catches, catcheth† caught, catched1
    plural catch
    subjunctive catch caught, catched1
    imperative catch —
    participles catching caught, catched1

    † Archaic or obsolete. 1 Nonstandard.

    Synonyms

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    Antonyms

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    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    • → French: catch
    • → Kabuverdianu:
    • → Spanish: cachar

    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked‌: "could be any sense"

    References

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    1. ^ Ross, Alan S. C. (1954), “Linguistic Class Indicators in Present-Day English”, in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen‎[1], volume 55, number 1, Helsinki: Modern Language Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 37.
    2. ^ Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828. byu.edu.
    3. ^ Kenyon & Knott, A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English. archive.org
    4. ^ Hall, Joseph Sargent (2 March 1942), “1. The Vowel Sounds of Stressed Syllables”, in The Phonetics of Great Smoky Mountain Speech (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 4), New York: King's Crown Press, →DOI, →ISBN, § 5, page 25.

    French

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    French Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia fr

    Etymology

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    Pseudo-anglicism, derived from English catch-as-catch-can (a style of wrestling now known as catch wrestling). Doublet of chasser (“to hunt”).

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    catch m (uncountable)

    1. wrestling; professional wrestling

    Derived terms

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    Further reading

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