I. ˈkapchə(r), -psh- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin captura, from captus (past participle of capere to take, seize) + -ura -ure — more at heave
1.
a. : the act of catching and holding by force, show of strength, stratagem, or guile often despite attempt to resist or to escape
the capture of the town by the enemy
the capture of an escaped convict
snares, traps, gins, and pitfalls for the capture of men by women — G.B.Shaw
b. : the act of winning, seizing, gaining control, or coming to dominate
the capture of the party by extremists
the capture of one's fancy by a piece of music
2. : one that has been seized or taken ; especially : a prize ship
3. : the natural diversion of one stream into the channel of another — called also stream piracy
4. : the act of moving so as to take one of an opponent's chessmen or one or more of his checkers
5. : the coalescence of an atomic nucleus with an elementary particle (as a neutron or electron) that may result in an emission (as of gamma rays) from the nucleus or in fission of the nucleus
II. verb
( captured ; captured ; capturing -pchəriŋ -psh(ə)r- ; captures )
transitive verb
1. : to take, seize, or catch especially as captive or prize by force, surprise, stratagem, craft, or skill: as
a. : to subdue into surrender and loss of independence
captured prisoners
b. : to seize and occupy
the king's forces captured the city
c. : to get control or secure domination of : take over
making plans to enter the highest finance and to capture the banking of the country — Hilaire Belloc
d. : to circumscribe, hold, or preserve in or as if in some pattern, medium, record, or other relatively permanent form
at any such moment as a photograph might capture — C.E.Montague
e. : to influence as though captive : captivate and hold the interest of
captured their imagination
2. : to take (as a piece in chess or a trick in cards) according to rules of a game
3. of a stream : to divert (another stream) into its own channel usually by a process of erosion — compare behead 2
4. : to bring about the capture of (an elementary particle)
the uranium 238 nucleus may capture a slow-moving neutron to form uranium 239
— see capture I 5
intransitive verb
: to take an opponent's checker or chessman from the board
Synonyms: see catch
III. noun
: the act of recording in a permanent file
data capture
IV. transitive verb
: to record in a permanent file (as in a computer)