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Catch (noun)
The act of capturing. s
“The catch of the perpetrator was the product of a year of police work.”
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Catch (noun)
The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball. t
“The player made an impressive catch.”
“Nice catch!”
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Catch (noun)
The act of noticing, understanding or hearing. t
“Good catch. I never would have remembered that.”
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Catch (noun)
The game of catching a ball. t
“The kids love to play catch.”
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Catch (noun)
A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse. t
“Did you see his latest catch?”
“He’s a good catch.”
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Catch (noun)
Something which is captured or caught. t s
“The fishermen took pictures of their catch.”
“The catch amounted to five tons of swordfish.”
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Catch (noun)
A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening. t
“She installed a sturdy catch to keep her cabinets closed tight.”
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Catch (noun)
A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.
“There was a catch in his voice when he spoke his father’s name.”
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Catch (noun)
A concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation. t
“It sounds like a great idea, but what’s the catch?”
“Be careful, that’s a catch question.”
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Catch (noun)
A crick; a sudden muscle pain during unaccustomed positioning when the muscle is in use.
“I bent over to see under the table and got a catch in my side.”
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Catch (noun)
A fragment of music or poetry. s
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Catch (noun)
A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.
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Catch (noun)
A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.
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Catch (noun)
A type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.
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Catch (noun)
A type of humorous round in which the voices gradually catch up with one another; usually sung by men and often having bawdy lyrics.
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Catch (noun)
The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse. s
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Catch (noun)
The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.
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Catch (noun)
A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.
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Catch (noun)
The first contact of an oar with the water.
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Catch (noun)
A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.
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Catch (noun)
Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
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Catch (noun)
A slight remembrance; a trace.
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Catch (verb)
To capture, overtake.
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Catch (verb)
To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape). s from 13thc.
“I hope I catch a fish.”
“He ran but we caught him at the exit.”
“The police caught the robber at a nearby casino.”
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Catch (verb)
To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive. from 14thc.
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Catch (verb)
To marry or enter into a similar relationship with.
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Catch (verb)
To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc. from 16thc.
“If he catches you on the chin, you’ll be on the mat.”
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Catch (verb)
To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for. from 17thc.
“If you leave now you might catch him.”
“I would love to have dinner but I have to catch a plane.”
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Catch (verb)
To unpleasantly discover unexpectedly; to unpleasantly surprise (someone doing something). from 17thc.
“He was caught on video robbing the bank.”
“He was caught in the act of stealing a biscuit.”
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Catch (verb)
To travel by means of. from 19thc.
“catch the bus”
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Catch (verb)
To seize hold of.
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Catch (verb)
To become pregnant. (Only in past tense or as participle.) from 19thc.
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Catch (verb)
To grab, seize, take hold of. from 13thc.
“I caught her by the arm and turned her to face me.”
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Catch (verb)
To take or replenish something necessary, such as breath or sleep. from 14thc.
“I have to stop for a moment and catch my breath.”
“I caught some Z’s on the train.”
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Catch (verb)
To grip or entangle. from 17thc.
“My leg was caught in a tree-root.”
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Catch (verb)
To be held back or impeded.
“Be careful your dress doesn’t catch on that knob.”
“His voice caught when he came to his father’s name.”
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Catch (verb)
To engage with some mechanism; to stick, to succeed in interacting with something or initiating some process. t
“Push it in until it catches.”
“The engine finally caught and roared to life.”
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Catch (verb)
To have something be held back or impeded.
“I caught my heel on the threshold.”
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Catch (verb)
To make a grasping or snatching motion (at). from 17thc.
“He caught at the railing as he fell.”
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Catch (verb)
Of fire, to spread or be conveyed to. from 18thc.
“The fire spread slowly until it caught the eaves of the barn.”
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Catch (verb)
To grip (the water) with one’s oars at the beginning of the stroke. from 19thc.
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Catch (verb)
To germinate and set down roots. from 19thc.
“The seeds caught and grew.”
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Catch (verb)
To contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore.
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Catch (verb)
To intercept.
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Catch (verb)
To handle an exception. t from 20thc.
“When the program catches an exception, this is recorded in the log file.”
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Catch (verb)
To seize or intercept an object moving through the air (or, sometimes, some other medium). t from 16thc.
“I will throw you the ball, and you catch it.”
“Watch me catch this raisin in my mouth.”
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Catch (verb)
To seize (an opportunity) when it occurs. t from 16thc.
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Catch (verb)
To end a player’s innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce. from 18thc.
“Townsend hit 29 before he was caught by Wilson.”
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Catch (verb)
To receive (by being in the way).
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Catch (verb)
To play (a specific period of time) as the catcher. from 19thc.
“He caught the last three innings.”
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Catch (verb)
To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.). from 13thc.
“You’re going to catch a beating if they find out.”
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Catch (verb)
To be touched or affected by (something) through exposure. from 13thc.
“The sunlight caught the leaves and the trees turned to gold.”
“Her hair was caught by the light breeze.”
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Catch (verb)
To be infected by (an illness). from 16thc.
“Everyone seems to be catching the flu this week.”
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Catch (verb)
To spread by infection or similar means.
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Catch (verb)
To receive or be affected by (wind, water, fire etc.). from 18thc.
“The bucket catches water from the downspout.”
“The trees caught quickly in the dry wind.”
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Catch (verb)
To acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or infection. from 16thc.
“She finally caught the mood of the occasion.”
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Catch (verb)
To be hit by something. s
“He caught a bullet in the back of the head last year.”
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Catch (verb)
To serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish.
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Catch (verb)
To take in with one’s senses or intellect.
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Catch (verb)
To get pregnant.
“Well, if you didn’t catch this time, we’ll have more fun trying again until you do.”
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Catch (verb)
To grasp mentally: perceive and understand. t from 16thc.
“Did you catch his name?”
“Did you catch the way she looked at him?”
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Catch (verb)
To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment). from 20thc.
“I have some free time tonight so I think I’ll catch a movie.”
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Catch (verb)
To seize attention, interest.
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Catch (verb)
To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully. from 17thc.
“You’ve really caught his determination in this sketch.”
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Catch (verb)
To charm or entrance. from 14thc.
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Catch (verb)
To obtain or experience
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Busted (adjective)
Having a certain type of bust breasts; cleavage.
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Busted (adjective)
Broke; having no money.
“I’d like to help you, but I’m busted.”
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Busted (adjective)
Caught in the act of doing something one shouldn’t do.
“I saw you take that cookie from the cookie jar! You’re busted!”
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Busted (adjective)
Extremely ugly.
“She was cute, but all her friends were busted.”
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Busted (adjective)
Tired.
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Busted (adjective)
Broken.
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Busted (verb)
simple past tense and past participle of bust
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Catch (verb)
intercept and hold (something which has been thrown, propelled, or dropped)
“she threw the bottle into the air and caught it again”
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Catch (verb)
intercept the fall of (someone)
“he fell forwards and Linda caught him”
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Catch (verb)
seize or take hold of
“he caught hold of her arm as she tried to push past him”
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Catch (verb)
grasp or try to grasp
“his hands caught at her arms as she tried to turn away”
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Catch (verb)
dismiss (a batsman) by catching the ball before it touches the ground
“I was caught on the square-leg boundary for 96”
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Catch (verb)
capture (a person or animal that tries or would try to escape)
“we hadn’t caught a single rabbit”
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Catch (verb)
succeed in reaching a person who is ahead of one.
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Catch (verb)
unexpectedly find oneself in (an unwelcome situation)
“my sister was caught in a thunderstorm”
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Catch (verb)
surprise (someone) in an incriminating situation or in the act of doing something wrong
“he was caught with bomb-making equipment in his home”
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Catch (verb)
come upon (someone) unexpectedly
“unexpected snow caught us by surprise”
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Catch (verb)
(of an object) accidentally become entangled or trapped in something
“a button caught in her hair”
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Catch (verb)
have (a part of one’s body or clothing) become entangled or trapped in something
“she caught her foot in the bedspread”
“companies face increased risks of being caught in a downward spiral”
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Catch (verb)
fix or fasten in place
“her hair was caught up in a chignon”
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Catch (verb)
reach in time and board (a train, bus, or aircraft)
“they caught the 12.15 from Oxford”
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Catch (verb)
reach or be in a place in time to see (a person, performance, programme, etc.)
“she was hurrying downstairs to catch the news”
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Catch (verb)
attend or watch (a performance)
“we’ll get some burgers and catch a movie”
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Catch (verb)
engage (a person’s interest or imagination)
“it was the business scheme that had caught his imagination”
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Catch (verb)
perceive fleetingly
“she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror”
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Catch (verb)
hear or understand (something said), especially with effort
“he bellowed something Jess couldn’t catch”
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Catch (verb)
succeed in evoking or representing
“the programme caught something of the flavour of Minoan culture”
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Catch (verb)
strike (someone) on a part of the body
“Ben caught him on the chin with an uppercut”
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Catch (verb)
accidentally strike (a part of one’s body) against something
“she fell and caught her head on the corner of the hearth”
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Catch (verb)
contract (an illness) through infection or contagion
“he served in Macedonia, where he caught malaria”
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Catch (verb)
become ignited and start burning
“the rafters have caught”
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Catch (verb)
(of an engine) fire and start running
“the generator caught immediately”
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Catch (noun)
an act of catching something, typically a ball.
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Catch (noun)
a chance or act of catching the ball to dismiss a batsman
“he took a brilliant catch at deep square leg”
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Catch (noun)
an amount of fish caught
“the UK’s North Sea haddock catch”
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Catch (noun)
a person considered desirable as a partner or spouse
“I mistakenly thought he would be a good catch”
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Catch (noun)
a game in which a ball is thrown back and forth between two or more players.
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Catch (noun)
a device for securing something such as a door, window, or box
“the window catch was rusty”
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Catch (noun)
a hidden problem or disadvantage in an apparently ideal situation
“there’s a catch in it somewhere”
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Catch (noun)
an unevenness in a person’s voice caused by emotion
“there was a catch in Anne’s voice”
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Catch (noun)
a round, typically one with words arranged to produce a humorous effect.