I. cap ‧ ture 1 W3 /ˈkæptʃə $ -ər/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . PERSON to catch a person and keep them as a prisoner:
Government troops have succeeded in capturing the rebel leader.
40 captured French soldiers
2 . PLACE/THING to get control of a place or object that previously belonged to an enemy, during a war:
The town was captured after a siege lasting ten days.
The Dutch fleet captured two English ships.
3 . ANIMAL to catch an animal after chasing or following it:
The tiger was finally captured two miles outside the village.
4 . FILM/RECORD/ART to succeed in recording, showing, or describing a situation or feeling, using words or pictures:
These photographs capture the essence of working-class life at the turn of the century.
The robbery was captured on police video cameras.
5 . capture sb’s imagination/attention etc to make someone feel very interested in something:
His stories of foreign adventure captured my imagination.
6 . capture sb’s heart to make someone love you
7 . BUSINESS/POLITICS to get something that previously belonged to one of your competitors:
We aim to capture eight percent of the UK wine market.
Republicans captured three Senate seats from the Democrats.
8 . capture the headlines to be talked or written about a lot in the newspapers or on television:
Irvine Welsh first captured the headlines with his novel ‘Trainspotting’.
9 . COMPUTER technical to put something in a form that a computer can use:
The data is captured by an optical scanner.
10 . CHESS to remove one of your opponent’s pieces from the board in ↑ chess
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THESAURUS
▪ catch to stop someone who is trying to escape, especially by running after them and then holding them:
He raced after her, but he couldn’t catch her.
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The police caught the bank robbers after a car chase through the city.
▪ arrest if the police arrest someone, they take him or her to a police station because they think that person has done something illegal:
Wayne was arrested for dangerous driving.
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The police arrested him and charged him with murder.
▪ apprehend formal if the police apprehend someone they think has done something illegal, they catch him or her:
The two men were later apprehended after they robbed another store.
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The killers were never apprehended.
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All of the kidnappers were apprehended and convicted.
▪ capture to catch an enemy or a criminal in order to keep them as a prisoner:
The French king was captured by the English at the battle of Poitiers in 1356.
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The gunmen were finally captured after a shoot-out with the police.
▪ take somebody prisoner to catch someone, especially in a war, in order to keep them as a prisoner:
350 soldiers were killed and another 300 taken prisoner.
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Ellison was taken prisoner by the Germans during the retreat to Dunkirk.
▪ trap to make someone go to a place from which they cannot escape, especially by using your skill and intelligence:
Police trapped the man inside a bar on the city’s southside.
▪ corner to force someone into a place from which they cannot escape:
He was cornered outside the school by three gang members.
II. capture 2 BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin captura , from captus ; ⇨ ↑ captive 1 ]
1 . when you catch someone in order to make them a prisoner:
The two soldiers somehow managed to avoid capture.
2 . when soldiers get control of a place that previously belonged to an enemy
capture of
the capture of Jerusalem in 1099
3 . when you get control of something that previously belonged to one of your competitors
4 . when you put information into a form a computer can use