GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   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.]
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   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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   To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief. “They pursued . . . and caught him.”  
   Judg. i. 6.
   
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   To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish.
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   Hence: To insnare; to entangle. “To catch him in his words”.  
   Mark xii. 13.
   
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   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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   To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building.
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   To engage and attach; to please; to charm.
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   The soothing arts that catch the fair.
   Dryden.
   
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   To get possession of; to attain.
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   Torment myself to catch the English throne.
   Shak.
   
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   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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   To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.
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   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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2.       
   Caught , imp. & p. p. of Catch.
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