catch

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To capture or seize, especially after a chase.
2. v. To take by or as if by trapping or snaring.
3. v. To discover or come upon suddenly, unexpectedly, or accidentally: He was caught in the act of stealing.
4. v. To become cognizant or aware of suddenly: caught her gazing out the window.
5. v. To take hold of, especially forcibly or suddenly; grasp: caught me by the arm; caught the reins.
6. v. To grab so as to stop the motion of: catch a ball.
7. v. To overtake: The green car caught me on the straightaway.
8. v. To reach just in time; take: caught the bus to town; catch a wave.
9. v. To hold, as by snagging or entangling.
10. v. To cause to become suddenly or accidentally hooked, entangled, or fastened: caught my hem on the stair.
11. v. To hold up; delay: was caught in traffic for an hour.
12. v. To hit; strike: a punch that caught me in the stomach.
13. v. To check (oneself) during an action: I caught myself before replying.
14. v. To become subject to or to contract, as by exposure to a pathogen: catch a cold.
15. v. To become affected by or infused with: caught the joyous mood of the festival.
16. v. To suffer from the receipt of (criticism, for example): caught hell for being late.
17. v. To take or get suddenly, momentarily, or quickly: We caught a glimpse of the monarch.
18. v. To hear or listen to: caught the news bulletin on the radio; didn't catch the end of your sentence
19. v. To grasp mentally; apprehend: I don't catch your meaning.
20. v. To apprehend and reproduce accurately by or as if by artistic means: an impressionist who caught the effects of wind and water in his paintings.
21. v. To attract and fix; arrest: couldn't catch their attention; caught the teacher's eye.
22. v. To charm; captivate.
23. v. To deceive: failed to be caught by their fraudulent schemes.
24. v. Informal To go to see (a performance, for example): caught the midnight show.
25. v. To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period: catch some sleep.
26. v. To become held, entangled, or fastened: My coat caught in the car door.
27. v. To act or move so as to hold or grab someone or something: tried to catch at the life preserver.
28. v. To be communicable or infectious; spread.
29. v. To ignite: The fire caught.
30. v. Baseball To act as catcher.
31. n. The act of catching; a taking and holding.
32. n. Something that catches, especially a device for fastening or for checking motion.
33. n. Something caught: The mistake you found was a good catch.
34. n. Informal One that is worth having, especially an attractive or admirable marital partner.
35. n. Sports The grabbing and holding of a thrown, kicked, or batted ball before it hits the ground.
36. n. Sports A game of throwing and catching a ball.
37. n. A quantity that is caught: The catch amounted to 50 fish.
38. n. A choking or stoppage of the breath or voice.
39. n. A stop or break in the operation of a mechanism.
40. n. A tricky or previously unsuspected condition or drawback: It sounds like a good offer, but there may be a catch.
41. n. A snatch; a fragment.
42. n. Music A canonic, often rhythmically intricate composition for three or more voices, popular especially in the 17th and 18th centuries.
43. catch on To understand; perceive.
44. catch on To become popular: Skateboarding caught on quickly.
45. catch out To detect (another) in wrongdoing or error.
46. catch up To move fast enough to attain the same progress as another; draw even: caught up to the leader on the last lap of the race.
47. catch up To become equal or on a par with another: finally caught up with his brother in height.
48. catch up To bring an activity to completion or to a state of currentness: catch up on correspondence.
49. catch up To bring (another) up to date; brief: Let me catch you up on all the gossip.
50. catch up To seize or lift suddenly: The wind caught up the umbrella and carried it off.
51. catch up To involve, often unwillingly: was caught up in the scandal.
52. catch up To captivate; enthrall: I was caught up in the mood of the evening.
53. idiom. catch fire To ignite.
54. idiom. catch fire To become very enthusiastic.
55. idiom. catch fire To become the subject of great interest and widespread enthusiasm: an idea that caught fire all over the country.
56. idiom. catch it Informal To receive a punishment or scolding.
57. idiom. catch (one's) breath To rest so as to be able to continue an activity.
58. idiom. catch up with To find or arrest after a period of pursuit: The police finally caught up with him in Omaha.
59. idiom. catch up with To have unpleasant consequences for, especially after a period of quiesence: mistakes that caught up with him when he ran for President.
60. idiom. catch you later Informal Used to express good-bye.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To chase; drive; hunt.
2. To approach; go to seek speech with.
3. To reach; arrive at.
4. To reach in pursuit or by special effort, as a moving object or one about to move; come up to: as, I caught my friend on the road, or just starting; to catch the train.
5. To lay hold of; grasp; seize; take: as, to catch a sword by the handle.
6. Specifically To intercept and seize (something approaching or passing, especially in the air): as, to catch a ball.
7. To take captive, as in a snare or trap; take with a lure or bait; insnare; entrap: as, to catch mice or birds; to catcl fish: often used figuratively in this sense.
8. To seize after pursuit or search; apprehend; arrest: as, to catch a thief or a runaway horse.
9. To get; obtain; gain possession of; acquire.
10. To seize upon by attraction or impression; take and fix the attention of; hence, to gain influence over; captivate.
11. To seize or apprehend by the senses or the intellect: as, to catch sight of something.
12. To get; receive.
13. To be affected or influenced by; become affected by or infected with; take: as, to catch cold or the measles; to catch fire.
14. To entangle with or entrap in: as, she caught the fringe of her shawl on the door-knob.
15. To seize upon or attack; fasten upon; become communicated to: as, the fire caught the adjoining buildings.
16. To come on suddenly, unexpectedly, or accidentally: as, they were caught in the act.
17. To lift or raise to a higher elevation.
18. To take hold with the hand or hands; grasp. Specifically
19. To act as catcher in the game of base-ball.
20. To acquire possession.
21. To be entangled or impeded; become fixed; remain fast: as, his clothes caught in the briers; the lock catches.
22. To take proper hold so as to act: as, the bolt does not catch.
23. To be communicable or infectious; spread by or as if by infection.
24. To endeavor to lay hold of; be eager to get, use, or adopt: with at.
25. n. The act of catching or seizing; seizure.
26. n. Specifically In base-ball and similar games, the catching and holding of a batted or thrown ball before it touches the ground.
27. n. Anything that seizes or takes hold, that checks motion or the like, as a hook, a ratchet, a pawl, a spring-bolt for a door or lid, or any other contrivance employed in machinery for the purpose of stopping or checking certain movements.
28. n. A choking or stoppage of the breath.
29. n. The posture of seizing; a state of preparation to catch, or of watching an opportunity to seize.
30. n. Anything caught; especially, a prize or booty; something valuable or desirable obtained or to be obtained; a gain or an advantage; often, colloquially, one desirable as a husband or wife on account of wealth or position.
31. n. Specifically In fishing, the quantity of fish taken: as, the catch on the Banks during the season.
32. n. A snatch; a short interval of action.
33. n. A hold; a grasp; a grip.
34. n. A slight or partial recollection.
35. n. A trick; something by which one may be entrapped.
36. n. In music, originally, an unaccompanied round for three or more voices, written as a continuous melody, not in score. Later, a round the words of which were so selected that it was possible, either by means of the pronunciation or by the interweaving of the words and phrases, to give to the different voices or parts ludicrous effects. Grove.
37. n. An obsolete form of ketch.
38. In agriculture, to germinate and grow, as a crop: as, the wheat will catch if the seed and season are good and the land well prepared.
39. n. In agriculture, the extent or condition of the germination of a crop: as, a good catch of clover; if a good catch continues to thrive it will result in a good stand.
40. n. In lock-making, a small lock-case containing a sliding bolt but having no key. The beveled- or latch-bolt is kept in an extended position by a spring or by gravity, and is controlled by a knob which slides in a slot in the case.

Wiktionary

1. n. countable The act of seizing or capturing. syn.
2. n. countable The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball. syn. transl.
3. n. countable The act of noticing, understanding or hearing. syn. transl.
4. n. uncountable The game of catching a ball. transl.
5. n. countable A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse. syn. transl.
6. n. countable Something which is captured or caught. transl.
7. n. uncountable The amount which is caught, especially of fish. syn.
8. n. countable A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening. syn. transl.
9. n. countable A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.
10. n. countable A concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation. syn. transl.
11. n. countable A crick; a sudden muscle pain during unaccustomed positioning when the muscle is in use.
12. n. countable A fragment of music or poetry. syn.
13. n. obsolete A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.
14. n. countable, agriculture A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.
15. n. obsolete A type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.
16. n. 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.
17. n. countable, music The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse. syn.
18. n. countable, cricket The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.
19. n. countable, cricket A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.
20. n. countable, rowing The first contact of an oar with the water.
21. n. countable, phonetics A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.
22. v. To capture, overtake.
23. v. To seize hold of.
24. v. To intercept.
25. v. To receive (by being in the way).
26. v. To take in with one's senses or intellect.
27. v. To seize attention, interest.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To lay hold on; to seize, especially with the hand; to grasp (anything) in motion, with the effect of holding.
2. v. To seize after pursuing; to arrest.
3. v. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook.
4. v. Hence: To insnare; to entangle.
5. v. To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend.
6. v. To communicate to; to fasten upon.
7. v. To engage and attach; to please; to charm.
8. v. To get possession of; to attain.
9. v. To take or receive; esp. to take by sympathy, contagion, infection, or exposure.
10. v. To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find.
11. v. To reach in time; to come up with.
12. v. obsolete To attain possession.
13. v. To be held or impeded by entanglement or a light obstruction.
14. v. To take hold.
15. v. To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate.
16. n. Act of seizing; a grasp.
17. n. That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened.
18. n. Archaic The posture of seizing; a state of preparation to lay hold of, or of watching he opportunity to seize.
19. n. That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the whole quantity caught or taken at one time.
20. n. colloq. Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony.
21. n. Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
22. n. A slight remembrance; a trace.
23. n. (Mus.) A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. catch up with and possibly overtake
2. n. a restraint that checks the motion of something
3. v. hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers
4. v. reach in time
5. v. detect a blunder or misstep
6. v. succeed in catching or seizing, especially after a chase
7. v. start burning
8. v. reach with a blow or hit in a particular spot
9. v. take in and retain
10. v. be struck or affected by
11. n. a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident
12. v. become aware of
13. v. contract.
14. v. perceive by hearing
15. v. to hook or entangle
16. v. get or regain something necessary, usually quickly or briefly
17. n. the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal)
18. v. apprehend and reproduce accurately
19. v. cause to become accidentally or suddenly caught, ensnared, or entangled
20. v. attract and fix
21. v. be the catcher
22. n. the quantity that was caught
23. v. discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
24. v. capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping
25. n. a person regarded as a good matrimonial prospect
26. n. a fastener that fastens or locks a door or window
27. v. check oneself during an action
28. v. take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
29. v. see or watch
30. n. the act of catching an object with the hands
31. v. delay or hold up; prevent from proceeding on schedule or as planned
32. v. spread or be communicated
33. n. anything that is caught (especially if it is worth catching)
34. n. a cooperative game in which a ball is passed back and forth
35. n. a break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong emotion)
36. v. suffer from the receipt of
37. v. perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily
38. v. attract; cause to be enamored
39. v. grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of