GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found one definition

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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   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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