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catch

1 catch /ˈkætʃ/ /ˈkɛtʃ/ verb
catches; caught /ˈkɑːt/ ; catching
1 catch
/ˈkætʃ/ /ˈkɛtʃ/
verb
catches; caught /ˈkɑːt/ ; catching
Britannica Dictionary definition of CATCH
: to use your hands to stop and hold (an object that is moving through the air)
[+ object]
[no object]
[+ object] : to use your hands to grasp and hold onto (someone or something)
[+ object] : to capture and not allow (a person, animal, or fish) to escape
[+ object]
: to manage to find, meet, or reach (someone) at a particular time or in a particular state or condition
: to find (someone who is doing something wrong)
[+ object] : to affect (someone) in a sudden and surprising way
[+ object]
: to suddenly stop (yourself) before you do something
: to suddenly become aware that you are doing something
[+ object] : to cause (someone) to be stopped, delayed, etc. usually used as (be/get) caught
see also caught up in 1 (below)
: to cause (something) to become stuck and unable to move
[+ object]
[no object]
[no object] : to have the parts connect firmly
[+ object]
: to stop and hold (falling water)
: to become covered with (something that moves through the air)
10 
[+ object]
: to hit or touch (someone or something)
: to be hit or touched by (something)
11 
[+ object] : to become affected with (a sickness or disease)
◊ When people say that you will catch your death (of cold), they mean that you will become sick or catch a very bad cold.
see also catching
12 
[+ object] : to begin to feel excitement or interest about something
13 
[+ object] : to attract and hold (someone's attention, interest, etc.)
◊ If someone or something catches your eye, you notice that person or thing.
see also eye-catching
14 
[+ object] : to see, smell, or notice (something)
15 
[+ object] informal : to hear or understand (something)
16 
[+ object] : to become aware of (something, such as an illness)
17 
[+ object] : to have or do (something)
18 
[+ object] : to get (something) through effort
19 
[+ object] informal : to meet with (someone)
20 
[+ object] : to move fast enough to be next to or in front of (someone)
21 
[+ object] : to get on a bus, train, etc., before it leaves
22 
[+ object] : to see or hear (a show, game, etc.)
23 
[+ object] : to describe or show (someone or something) in an accurate way in art
24 
[no object] baseball : to play the position of catcher

catch at

[phrasal verb]
catch at (something)
: to reach for and try to hold (something)

catch fire

or US catch on fire : to begin to burn
: to become very popular or effective

catch hell

see hell

catch it

chiefly British, informal
: to be punished or scolded

catch lightning in a bottle

see 1lightning

catch on

[phrasal verb]
: to become popular
: to learn or understand something

catch out

[phrasal verb]
catch (someone) out chiefly British
: to show that (someone) does not know something or is doing something bad

catch (someone) dead

see 1dead

catch up

[phrasal verb]
: to move fast enough to join someone or something that is in front of you often + with or to
often used figuratively
: to learn about recent events
often + on
catch up on (something) : to do (something) that you could have done earlier
catch (someone) up British : to join someone who is ahead of you
catch up with (someone)
: to begin to affect (someone) usually in a bad way
: to find and arrest (someone)
informal : to meet with (someone)

catch your breath

see breath

caught in the middle

see 2middle

caught short

: not having enough of something
British, informal : having a sudden urge to use the toilet

caught up in

: involved in (a difficult or confusing situation)
see also 1catch 6 (above)
: excited about something and having trouble thinking about anything else

— catchable

/ˈkætʃəbəl/ /ˈkɛtʃəbəl/ adjective
2 catch /ˈkætʃ/ /ˈkɛtʃ/ noun
plural catches
2 catch
/ˈkætʃ/ /ˈkɛtʃ/
noun
plural catches
Britannica Dictionary definition of CATCH
[count] : a hidden problem that makes something more complicated or difficult to do usually singular
[count] : the act of stopping a moving object (such as a ball) and holding it in your hands : the act of catching something
[noncount] : a game in which two or more people throw and catch a ball
[count] : an amount of fish that has been caught
[count] old-fashioned : a person who would be very desirable as a husband or wife
[count] : something that holds an object or stops the parts of an object from moving
[singular] : a short, sharp change or stop in a person's voice or breath while speaking