(~es, ~ing, caught)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ a person or animal, you capture them after chasing them, or by using a trap, net, or other device.
Police say they are confident of ~ing the gunman...
Where did you ~ the fish?...
I wondered if it was an animal caught in a trap.
= capture
VERB: V n, V n, V-ed
2.
If you ~ an object that is moving through the air, you seize it with your hands.
I jumped up to ~ a ball and fell over.
VERB: V n
•
Catch is also a noun.
He missed the ~ and the match was lost.
N-COUNT
3.
If you ~ a part of someone’s body, you take or seize it with your hand, often in order to stop them going somewhere.
Liz caught his arm...
He knelt beside her and caught her hand in both of his...
Garrido caught her by the wrist.
= seize
VERB: V n, V n prep, V n prep
4.
If one thing ~es another, it hits it accidentally or manages to hit it.
The stinging slap almost caught his face...
I may have caught him with my elbow but it was just an accident...
He caught her on the side of her head with his other fist.
VERB: V n, V n with n, V n on n
5.
If something ~es on or in an object or if an object ~es something, it accidentally becomes attached to the object or stuck in it.
Her ankle caught on a root, and she almost lost her balance...
A man caught his foot in the lawnmower.
VERB: V prep, V n prep
6.
When you ~ a bus, train, or plane, you get on it in order to travel somewhere.
We were in plenty of time for Anthony to ~ the ferry...
He caught a taxi to Harrods.
= get
VERB: V n, V n prep
7.
If you ~ someone doing something wrong, you see or find them doing it.
He caught a youth breaking into a car...
Three years ago my wife and I divorced. I caught her with her boss.
VERB: V n -ing, V n prep
8.
If you ~ yourself doing something, especially something surprising, you suddenly become aware that you are doing it.
I caught myself feeling almost sorry for poor Mr Laurence.
= find
VERB: V pron-refl -ing
9.
If you ~ something or ~ a glimpse of it, you notice it or manage to see it briefly.
As she turned back she caught the puzzled look on her mother’s face...
He caught a glimpse of the man’s face in a shop window.
VERB: V n, V n
10.
If you ~ something that someone has said, you manage to hear it.
I do not believe I caught your name...
The men out in the corridor were trying to ~ what they said.
VERB: V n, V wh
11.
If you ~ a TV or radio programme or an event, you manage to see or listen to it.
Bill turns on the radio to ~ the local news...
VERB: V n
12.
If you ~ someone, you manage to contact or meet them to talk to them, especially when they are just about to go somewhere else.
I dialled Elizabeth’s number thinking I might ~ her before she left for work...
Hello, Dolph. Glad I caught you.
VERB: V n, V n
13.
If something or someone ~es you by surprise or at a bad time, you were not expecting them or do not feel able to deal with them.
She looked as if the photographer had caught her by surprise...
I’m sorry but I just cannot say anything. You’ve caught me at a bad time...
The sheer number of spectators has caught everyone unprepared.
VERB: V n prep, V n prep, V n adj
14.
If something ~es your attention or your eye, you notice it or become interested in it.
My shoes caught his attention...
A quick movement across the aisle caught his eye.
VERB: V n, V n
15.
If you are caught in a storm or other unpleasant situation, it happens when you cannot avoid its effects.
When he was fishing off the island he was caught in a storm and almost drowned...
Visitors to the area were caught between police and the rioters.
V-PASSIVE: be/get V-ed prep, be/get V-ed prep
16.
If you are caught between two alternatives or two people, you do not know which one to choose or follow.
The Jordanian leader is caught between both sides in the dispute...
She was caught between envy and admiration.
V-PASSIVE: be V-ed between pl-n, be V-ed between pl-n
17.
If you ~ a cold or a disease, you become ill with it.
The more stress you are under, the more likely you are to ~ a cold.
VERB: V n
18.
To ~ liquids or small pieces that fall from somewhere means to collect them in a container.
...a specially designed breadboard with a tray to ~ the crumbs.
= collect
VERB: V n
19.
If something ~es the light or if the light ~es it, it reflects the light and looks bright or shiny.
They saw the ship’s guns, ~ing the light of the moon...
Often a fox goes across the road in front of me and I just ~ it in the headlights.
VERB: V n, V n in n
20.
A ~ on a window, door, or container is a device that fastens it.
She fiddled with the ~ of her bag...
N-COUNT
21.
A ~ is a hidden problem or difficulty in a plan or an offer that seems surprisingly good.
The ~ is that you work for your supper, and the food and accommodation can be very basic...
= snag
N-COUNT: usu sing
22.
When people have been fishing, their ~ is the total number of fish that they have caught.
The ~ included one fish over 18 pounds.
N-COUNT
23.
Catch is a game in which children throw a ball to each other.
N-UNCOUNT
24.
Catch is a game in which one child chases other children and tries to touch or ~ one of them.
= tag
N-UNCOUNT
25.
see also ~ing
26.
You can say things such as ‘You wouldn’t ~ me doing that’ to emphasize that you would never do a particular thing. (INFORMAL)
You wouldn’t ~ me in there, I can tell you.
PHRASE: PHR -ing, PHR prep/adv emphasis
27.
to ~ your breath: see breath
to ~ fire: see fire
to ~ hold of something : see hold
to be caught short: see short
to ~ sight of something : see sight