Meaning of catch In English

• 0 to take hold of something, especially something that is moving through the air:

  • I managed to catch the glass before it hit the ground.

  • We saw the eagle swoop from the sky to catch its prey.

  • Our dog ran past me and out of the house before I could catch it.

  • He caught hold of my arm.

  • We placed saucepans on the floor to catch (= collect) the drops of water coming through the roof.

  • UK The batsman was caught (out) (= someone in the other team caught the ball when he hit it).

• 1 to find and stop a person or animal that is trying to escape:

  • Great pressure was put on the police to catch the terrorists as soon as possible.

  • [ + -ing verb ] Two armed men were caught trying to cross the frontier at night.

  • They were happy because they had caught a lot of fish that day.

  • figurative I can see you're busy right now, so I'll catch you (= speak to you) later.

• 2 to discover, see, or realize something, especially someone doing something wrong:

  • [ + -ing verb ] He caught her reading his old love letters.

  • If the virus is caught (= discovered) in time, most patients can be successfully treated.

  • A ship out at sea caught his attention.

  • Her pictures caught my imagination.

  • He doesn't like to be caught without any biscuits in the house.

  • You won't catch me at work after four o'clock.

  • You won't catch Carla eating in a cheap restaurant, oh no.

• 3 to travel or be able to travel on an aircraft, train, bus, etc.:

  • He always catches the 10.30 a.m. train to work.

  • She was worried that she'd arrive too late to catch the last bus home.

  • You'll have to run if you want to catch the post (= send something before the post has been collected).

• 4 to get an illness, especially one caused by bacteria or a virus:

  • He caught a cold on holiday.

  • A lot of children in the school caught measles last term.

• 5 to manage to hear or see something, so you understand or remember it:

  • I couldn't catch what the announcer said, with all the other noise going on.

  • Did you catch the car's number plate?

  • Here are some of the exhibitions you should catch this summer.

  • I was home in time to catch the evening news.

  • US Would you like to catch a movie some time?

  • We caught sight of a rabbit as it hopped into the bushes.

  • I caught a glimpse of her a red coat in the crowd.

• 6 to stick somewhere, or to make something stick somewhere:

  • The sleeve of my jacket (got) caught on the door handle and ripped.

  • Her hair got caught (up) in her hairdryer.

• 7 to hit something, especially without intending to:

  • His head caught the edge of the table as he fell.

  • Medical teams were caught in the crossfire of the opposing armies.

• 8 to become involved in something, often without wanting to:

  • They were having an argument and somehow I got caught up in it.

• 9 to stop breathing for a moment, or to begin to breathe correctly again after running or other exercise:

  • I had to sit down and catch my breath.

• 10 If you have caught the sun, the sun has made your skin a slightly darker brown or red colour:

  • You've caught the sun on the back of your neck.

• 11 to start burning:

  • For reasons which are not yet known, the factory caught fire late yesterday evening.

  • This wood's too wet, the fire won't catch.

• 12 a hidden problem or disadvantage:

  • Free food? It sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?

• 13 an amount of fish caught:

  • The fishermen were disappointed with their catch that day.

  • Her new boyfriend's not much of a catch really, is he?

• 14 a small device on a door, window, bag, etc. that keeps it fastened

• 15 a feeling of stiffness in part of your body:

  • She would complain of catch in the joints during winter.

• 16 to take or get hold of a moving object, or to hold and prevent someone from getting away:

  • [ I ] She tossed him the car keys and yelled, “Catch!”

  • [ T ] He sneaked into the fairgrounds without paying and hoped nobody would catch him.

• 17 to discover, find, or become aware of something:

  • If the disease is caught in time, most patients get well quickly.

  • I hope I catch all the mistakes in my term paper.

• 18 to see or hear something or someone, or to understand:

  • I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch what you said.

• 19 to travel or be able to travel on a train, bus, aircraft, etc.:

  • He always caught the 6:05 train out of Grand Central.

• 20 to get an illness:

  • I caught a cold.

• 21 a hidden problem or disadvantage:

  • That sales price sounds too good to be true – there must be a catch to it somewhere.

• 22 a small device with a movable part that is used to fasten something:

  • The catch on the bracelet is broken.

• 23 the act of taking hold of something that is thrown or comes through the air:

  • [ C ] The ball was hit well, but the centerfielder made a leaping, one-handed catch to end the game.

  • [ U ] My kids are always begging me to play catch.

• 24 to surprise someone and cause difficulty for them:

  • A lot of taxpayers will be caught off guard by their new tax liability

• 25 to get someone's attention, or to be noticed by someone:

  • The high-profile plan has caught the eye of a national audience.

• 26 to become involved in something, often without wanting to:

  • The firm was caught up in the near-collapse of one of the world's largest hedge funds.

• 27 a hidden problem or disadvantage:

  • The catch is that during the calendar year you can only make six withdrawals from your account.

• 28 a new employee that a company is very pleased to have because they are very valuable:

  • He is a super-bright economist who is a real catch for the department.