/ ˈkæptʃə(r); NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
[ vn ]
CATCH
1.
to catch a person or an animal and keep them as a prisoner or in a confined space :
Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers.
The animals are captured in nets and sold to local zoos.
TAKE CONTROL
2.
to take control of a place, building, etc. using force :
The city was captured in 1941.
3.
to succeed in getting control of sth that other people are also trying to control :
The company has captured 90% of the market.
MAKE SB INTERESTED
4.
capture sb's attention / imagination / interest to make sb interested in sth :
They use puppets to capture the imagination of younger audiences.
FEELING / ATMOSPHERE
5.
to succeed in accurately expressing a feeling, an atmosphere, etc. in a picture, piece of writing, film / movie, etc.
SYN catch :
The article captured the mood of the nation.
FILM / RECORD / PAINT
6.
[ often passive ] capture sb/sth on film / tape / canvas, etc. to film / record / paint, etc. sb/sth :
The attack was captured on film by security cameras.
SB'S HEART
7.
capture sb's heart to make sb love you
COMPUTING
8.
to put sth into a computer in a form it can use
■ noun
[ U ] the act of capturing sb/sth or of being captured :
the capture of enemy territory
He evaded capture for three days.
data capture
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (as a noun): from French , from Latin captura , from capt- seized, taken, from the verb capere .