catch

catch
    n 1: a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident; "it
         sounds good but what's the catch?" [syn: {catch},
         {gimmick}]
    2: the quantity that was caught; "the catch was only 10 fish"
       [syn: {catch}, {haul}]
    3: a person regarded as a good matrimonial prospect [syn:
       {catch}, {match}]
    4: anything that is caught (especially if it is worth catching);
       "he shared his catch with the others"
    5: a break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong
       emotion)
    6: a restraint that checks the motion of something; "he used a
       book as a stop to hold the door open" [syn: {catch}, {stop}]
    7: a fastener that fastens or locks a door or window
    8: a cooperative game in which a ball is passed back and forth;
       "he played catch with his son in the backyard"
    9: the act of catching an object with the hands; "Mays made the
       catch with his back to the plate"; "he made a grab for the
       ball before it landed"; "Martin's snatch at the bridle failed
       and the horse raced away"; "the infielder's snap and throw
       was a single motion" [syn: {catch}, {grab}, {snatch}, {snap}]
    10: the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a
        criminal); "the policeman on the beat got credit for the
        collar" [syn: {apprehension}, {arrest}, {catch}, {collar},
        {pinch}, {taking into custody}]
    v 1: discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or
         unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a
         certain state; "She caught her son eating candy"; "She was
         caught shoplifting"
    2: perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily;
       "I caught the aroma of coffee"; "He caught the allusion in
       her glance"; "ears open to catch every sound"; "The dog
       picked up the scent"; "Catch a glimpse" [syn: {catch}, {pick
       up}]
    3: reach with a blow or hit in a particular spot; "the rock
       caught her in the back of the head"; "The blow got him in the
       back"; "The punch caught him in the stomach" [syn: {get},
       {catch}]
    4: take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion
       of; "Catch the ball!"; "Grab the elevator door!" [syn:
       {catch}, {grab}, {take hold of}]
    5: succeed in catching or seizing, especially after a chase; "We
       finally got the suspect"; "Did you catch the thief?" [syn:
       {get}, {catch}, {capture}]
    6: to hook or entangle; "One foot caught in the stirrup" [syn:
       {hitch}, {catch}] [ant: {unhitch}]
    7: attract and fix; "His look caught her"; "She caught his eye";
       "Catch the attention of the waiter" [syn: {catch}, {arrest},
       {get}]
    8: capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping; "I caught a
       rabbit in the trap today" [syn: {capture}, {catch}]
    9: reach in time; "I have to catch a train at 7 o'clock"
    10: get or regain something necessary, usually quickly or
        briefly; "Catch some sleep"; "catch one's breath"
    11: catch up with and possibly overtake; "The Rolls Royce caught
        us near the exit ramp" [syn: {overtake}, {catch}, {catch up
        with}]
    12: be struck or affected by; "catch fire"; "catch the mood"
    13: check oneself during an action; "She managed to catch
        herself before telling her boss what was on her mind"
    14: hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers; "We
        overheard the conversation at the next table" [syn: {catch},
        {take in}, {overhear}]
    15: see or watch; "view a show on television"; "This program
        will be seen all over the world"; "view an exhibition";
        "Catch a show on Broadway"; "see a movie" [syn: {watch},
        {view}, {see}, {catch}, {take in}]
    16: cause to become accidentally or suddenly caught, ensnared,
        or entangled; "I caught the hem of my dress in the brambles"
    17: detect a blunder or misstep; "The reporter tripped up the
        senator" [syn: {trip up}, {catch}]
    18: grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of; "did you
        catch that allusion?"; "We caught something of his theory in
        the lecture"; "don't catch your meaning"; "did you get it?";
        "She didn't get the joke"; "I just don't get him" [syn:
        {catch}, {get}]
    19: contract; "did you catch a cold?"
    20: start burning; "The fire caught"
    21: perceive by hearing; "I didn't catch your name"; "She didn't
        get his name when they met the first time" [syn: {catch},
        {get}]
    22: suffer from the receipt of; "She will catch hell for this
        behavior!" [syn: {catch}, {get}]
    23: attract; cause to be enamored; "She captured all the men's
        hearts" [syn: {capture}, {enamour}, {trance}, {catch},
        {becharm}, {enamor}, {captivate}, {beguile}, {charm},
        {fascinate}, {bewitch}, {entrance}, {enchant}]
    24: apprehend and reproduce accurately; "She really caught the
        spirit of the place in her drawings"; "She got the mood just
        right in her photographs" [syn: {catch}, {get}]
    25: take in and retain; "We have a big barrel to catch the
        rainwater"
    26: spread or be communicated; "The fashion did not catch"
    27: be the catcher; "Who is catching?"
    28: become aware of; "he caught her staring out the window"
    29: delay or hold up; prevent from proceeding on schedule or as
        planned; "I was caught in traffic and missed the meeting"
    

Catch \Catch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Caught}or {Catched}; p. pr.
   & vb. n. {Catching}. Catched is rarely used.] [OE. cacchen,
   OF. cachier, dialectic form of chacier to hunt, F. chasser,
   fr. (assumend) LL. captiare, for L. capture, V. intens. of
   capere to take, catch. See {Capacious}, and cf. {Chase},
   {Case} a box.]
   [1913 Webster]
   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.
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   2. To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief.
      "They pursued . . . and caught him." --Judg. i. 6.
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   3. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as,
      to catch a bird or fish.
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   4. Hence: To insnare; to entangle. "To catch him in his
      words". --Mark xii. 13.
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   5. To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to
      catch a melody. "Fiery thoughts . . . whereof I catch the
      issue." --Tennyson.
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   6. To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the
      adjoining building.
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   7. To engage and attach; to please; to charm.
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            The soothing arts that catch the fair. --Dryden.
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   8. To get possession of; to attain.
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            Torment myself to catch the English throne. --Shak.
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   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.
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   10. To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to
       catch one in the act of stealing.
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   11. To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train.
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   {To catch fire}, to become inflamed or ignited.

   {to catch it} to get a scolding or beating; to suffer
      punishment. [Colloq.]

   {To catch one's eye}, to interrupt captiously while speaking.
      [Colloq.] "You catch me up so very short." --Dickens.

   {To catch up}, to snatch; to take up suddenly.
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Catch \Catch\, v. i.
   1. To attain possession. [Obs.]
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            Have is have, however men do catch.   --Shak.
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   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.
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   3. To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch.
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   4. To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate.
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            Does the sedition catch from man to man? --Addison.
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   {To catch at}, to attempt to seize; to be eager to get or
      use. "[To] catch at all opportunities of subverting the
      state." --Addison.

   {To catch up with}, to come up with; to overtake.
      [1913 Webster]
    

Catch \Catch\, n.
   1. Act of seizing; a grasp. --Sir P. Sidney.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened;
      as, the catch of a gate.
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   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] --Addison.
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            The common and the canon law . . . lie at catch, and
            wait advantages one againt another.   --T. Fuller.
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   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.
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            Hector shall have a great catch if he knock out
            either of your brains.                --Shak.
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   5. Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife
      in matrimony. [Colloq.] --Marryat.
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   6. pl. Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
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            It has been writ by catches with many intervals.
                                                  --Locke.
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   7. A slight remembrance; a trace.
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            We retain a catch of those pretty stories.
                                                  --Glanvill.
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   8. (Mus.) A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the
      singers catch up each other's words.
      [1913 Webster]
    

480 Moby Thesaurus words for "catch":
      OD, abash, abduction, absorb, absorb the attention, accept,
      acquire, acquisition, allure, ambition, anchor, appreciate,
      apprehend, apprehension, arrest, arrestation, artful dodge,
      artifice, assimilate, astonishment, attract, baffle, bag,
      bag of tricks, bait the hook, bamboozle, be brought down,
      be felled, be seized of, be struck down, be traumatized,
      be with one, become popular, bewitch, biff, birdlime, blaze,
      blaze up, blemish, blind, block, blockade, blockbuster, blow,
      bluff, board, boast, bomb, bombshell, booty, bosey, bottleneck,
      boundary condition, box, break out, bug, burn, burst into flame,
      canon, captivate, captive, capture, catch at, catch cold,
      catch fire, catch flat-footed, catch napping, catch off side,
      catch off-guard, catch on, catch on fire, catch on to, catch out,
      catch red-handed, catch tripping, catch up, catch-22, catching,
      charm, check, chicane, chicanery, chouse, clasp, clause, clip,
      clout, clutch, collapse, collar, collaring, combust, come by,
      come down with, come in for, come into, come upon, come with child,
      comprehend, con, conceive, condition, confound, confuse, conquest,
      contract, coquette, cordon, corral, coup, crack, crux, curb,
      curtain, curve, curve-ball, cut off, date, dearest wish, decoy,
      defect, defection, deficiency, deliver, derive, descry,
      desideration, desideratum, design, desire, detect, determent,
      deterrent, device, diamond, difficulty, dig, digest, ding,
      dirty deal, dirty trick, disadvantage, discern, discover, disturb,
      dodge, donnee, drag down, dragnet, draw, drawback, earn,
      earthshaker, embarrass, enchant, encounter, engage,
      engage the attention, engage the mind, engage the thoughts,
      engross, engross the mind, engross the thoughts, enmesh, ensnare,
      ensnarl, entangle, enter into possession, enthrall, entice, entoil,
      entrap, enweb, erupt, escalator clause, escape clause,
      escape hatch, espouse, espy, exercise, eye-opener, failing,
      failure, fascinate, fast deal, fastener, fastening, fathom, fault,
      faute, feint, fetch, fever, ficelle, figure out, find, fine print,
      fix, flagrante delicto, flame, flaw, flimflam, flirt, fluster,
      foible, follow, fool, forbidden fruit, forcible seizure, foul,
      frailty, fugato, fugue, gain, gambit, gather, gem, get,
      get an earful, get hold of, get it, get the drift, get the idea,
      get the picture, gimmick, gin, given, glimmering goal,
      go into shock, godsend, golden vision, good thing, googly, grab,
      grab at, grabbing, grapple, grasp, grip, grounds, gull, hang-up,
      harvest, haul, have, have it taped, hazard, hear, hear of,
      hear tell of, hit, hitch, hoax, hocus-pocus, hold, hold spellbound,
      hold the interest, hole, honey, hoodwink, hook, hook in, hooker,
      hope, hurdle, hypnotize, immerse, imperfection, inadequacy,
      infirmity, intercept, inveigle, involve, involve the interest, jam,
      jewel, joker, juggle, jump at, ken, kicker, kidnapping, kink, know,
      land, lasso, learn, lime, limiting condition, little problem,
      lodestone, lodge, lure, magnet, make, master, meet with, mesh,
      mesmerize, monopolize, moor, nab, nabbing, nail, net, nick,
      nonplus, noose, objection, obligation, obsess, obstacle,
      obstruction, obstructive, obtain, occupy, occupy the attention,
      one small difficulty, overdose, overhaul, overhear, overtake,
      parameter, pass, pearl, perceive, peripeteia, perplex, picking up,
      pin, pinch, ploy, plum, power grab, prehend, prehension, preoccupy,
      prerequisite, pride, pride and joy, prize, problem, procure,
      provision, provisions, proviso, pull down, put out, rattle, reach,
      read, realize, reap, requisite, restrain, revelation, rift,
      rondeau, rondino, rondo, rondoletto, root, rope, round, round up,
      roundelay, rub, run a temperature, running in, ruse, sack,
      saving clause, savvy, scheme, score, scurvy trick, secure, seduce,
      see, see through, seize, seize the meaning, seizure,
      seizure of power, sense, shift, shocker, shortcoming, sicken,
      sine qua non, sleight, sleight of hand, sleight-of-hand trick,
      slosh, small print, smite, snag, snare, snarl, snatch, snatch at,
      snatching, sniggle, sock, something missing, spear, specification,
      spellbind, spot, spread the toils, staggerer, startler, steady,
      stick, stick fast, stipulation, stop, stratagem, strike,
      strike root, string, stumbling block, stumbling stone, stump,
      subterfuge, succeed, superfetate, surprisal, surprise,
      surprise ending, surprise package, surprise party, sweet patootie,
      sweetheart, sweetie, switch, taint, take, take captive, take hold,
      take hold of, take ill, take in, take prisoner, take root, take up,
      taking in, taking into custody, tangle, tangle up with, temptation,
      terms, thunderbolt, thunderclap, trap, treasure, trick, trip,
      troll, trophy, trouvaille, turn up, twig, ultimatum, understand,
      vamp, vampire, vulnerable place, weak link, weak point, weakness,
      wed, whack, whereas, wile, win, wind, windfall, winner, wish