catch at, to grasp at eagerly; accept readily: He caught at the chance to get free tickets.
42.
catch on,
a.
to become popular: That new song is beginning to catch on.
b.
to grasp mentally; understand: You'd think he'd catch on that he's boring us.
c.
New England. (in cooking) to scorch or burn slightly; sear: A pot roast is better if allowed to catch on.
43.
catch out, Chiefly British. to catch or discover (a person) in deceit or an error.
44.
catch up,
a.
to lift or snatch suddenly: Leaves were caught up in the wind.
b.
to bring or get up to date (often fol. by on or with): to catch up on one's reading.
c.
to come up to or overtake (something or someone) (usually fol. by with): to catch up with the leader in a race.
d.
to become involved or entangled with: caught up in the excitement of the crowd.
e.
to point out to (a person) minor errors, untruths, etc. (usually fol. by on): We caught the teacher up on a number of factual details.
f.
Falconry. to capture for further training (a hawk that has been flown at hack).
g.
South Midland and Southern U.S.to harness (a horse or mule).
—Idioms
45.
catch a crab, (in rowing) to bungle a stroke by failing to get the oar into the water at the beginning or by failing to withdraw it properly at the end.
46.
catch a turn, Nautical. to wind a rope around a bitt, capstan, etc., for one full turn.
47.
catch it, Informal. to receive a reprimand or punishment: He'll catch it from his mother for tearing his good trousers again.
Origin: 1175–1225; ME cacchen to chase, capture < ONF cachier < VL *captiāre, for L captāre to grasp at, seek out, try to catch, freq. of capere to take
Related forms:
catch⋅a⋅ble, adjective
Synonyms: 1.apprehend, arrest. 7.Catch,clutch,grasp,seize imply taking hold suddenly of something. To catch may be to reach after and get: He caught my hand. To clutch is to take firm hold of (often out of fear or nervousness), and retain: The child clutched her mother's hand. To grasp also suggests both getting and keeping hold of, with a connotation of eagerness and alertness, rather than fear (literally or figuratively): to grasp someone's hand in welcome; to grasp an idea. To seize implies the use of force or energy in taking hold of suddenly (literally or figuratively): to seize a criminal; to seize an opportunity. 17.enchant, fascinate, win. 28.capture, apprehension, arrest. 29.ratchet, bolt.
catch (kāch, kěch) v.
caught (kôt), catch·ing, catch·es
v.
tr.
To capture or seize, especially after a chase.
To take by or as if by trapping or snaring.
To discover or come upon suddenly, unexpectedly, or accidentally: He was caught in the act of stealing.
To become cognizant or aware of suddenly: caught her gazing out the window.
To take hold of, especially forcibly or suddenly; grasp: caught me by the arm; caught the reins.
To grab so as to stop the motion of: catch a ball.
To overtake: The green car caught me on the straightaway.
To reach just in time; take: caught the bus to town; catch a wave.
To hold, as by snagging or entangling.
To cause to become suddenly or accidentally hooked, entangled, or fastened: caught my hem on the stair.
To hold up; delay: was caught in traffic for an hour.
To become affected by or infused with: caught the joyous mood of the festival.
To suffer from the receipt of (criticism, for example): caught hell for being late.
To take or get suddenly, momentarily, or quickly: We caught a glimpse of the monarch.
To hear or listen to: caught the news bulletin on the radio; didn't catch the end of your sentence
To grasp mentally; apprehend: I don't catch your meaning.
To apprehend and reproduce accurately by or as if by artistic means: an impressionist who caught the effects of wind and water in his paintings.
Informal To go to see (a performance, for example): caught the midnight show.
To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period: catch some sleep.
To take hold of, especially forcibly or suddenly; grasp: caught me by the arm; caught the reins.
To grab so as to stop the motion of: catch a ball.
To overtake: The green car caught me on the straightaway.
To reach just in time; take: caught the bus to town; catch a wave.
To hold, as by snagging or entangling.
To cause to become suddenly or accidentally hooked, entangled, or fastened: caught my hem on the stair.
To hold up; delay: was caught in traffic for an hour.
To become affected by or infused with: caught the joyous mood of the festival.
To suffer from the receipt of (criticism, for example): caught hell for being late.
To take or get suddenly, momentarily, or quickly: We caught a glimpse of the monarch.
To hear or listen to: caught the news bulletin on the radio; didn't catch the end of your sentence
To grasp mentally; apprehend: I don't catch your meaning.
To apprehend and reproduce accurately by or as if by artistic means: an impressionist who caught the effects of wind and water in his paintings.
Informal To go to see (a performance, for example): caught the midnight show.
To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period: catch some sleep.
To overtake: The green car caught me on the straightaway.
To reach just in time; take: caught the bus to town; catch a wave.
To hold, as by snagging or entangling.
To cause to become suddenly or accidentally hooked, entangled, or fastened: caught my hem on the stair.
To hold up; delay: was caught in traffic for an hour.
To become affected by or infused with: caught the joyous mood of the festival.
To suffer from the receipt of (criticism, for example): caught hell for being late.
To take or get suddenly, momentarily, or quickly: We caught a glimpse of the monarch.
To hear or listen to: caught the news bulletin on the radio; didn't catch the end of your sentence
To grasp mentally; apprehend: I don't catch your meaning.
To apprehend and reproduce accurately by or as if by artistic means: an impressionist who caught the effects of wind and water in his paintings.
Informal To go to see (a performance, for example): caught the midnight show.
To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period: catch some sleep.
To hold, as by snagging or entangling.
To cause to become suddenly or accidentally hooked, entangled, or fastened: caught my hem on the stair.
To hold up; delay: was caught in traffic for an hour.
To become affected by or infused with: caught the joyous mood of the festival.
To suffer from the receipt of (criticism, for example): caught hell for being late.
To take or get suddenly, momentarily, or quickly: We caught a glimpse of the monarch.
To hear or listen to: caught the news bulletin on the radio; didn't catch the end of your sentence
To grasp mentally; apprehend: I don't catch your meaning.
To apprehend and reproduce accurately by or as if by artistic means: an impressionist who caught the effects of wind and water in his paintings.
Informal To go to see (a performance, for example): caught the midnight show.
To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period: catch some sleep.
To hit; strike: a punch that caught me in the stomach.
To check (oneself) during an action: I caught myself before replying.
To become subject to or to contract, as by exposure to a pathogen: catch a cold.
To become affected by or infused with: caught the joyous mood of the festival.
To suffer from the receipt of (criticism, for example): caught hell for being late.
To take or get suddenly, momentarily, or quickly: We caught a glimpse of the monarch.
To hear or listen to: caught the news bulletin on the radio; didn't catch the end of your sentence
To grasp mentally; apprehend: I don't catch your meaning.
To apprehend and reproduce accurately by or as if by artistic means: an impressionist who caught the effects of wind and water in his paintings.
Informal To go to see (a performance, for example): caught the midnight show.
To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period: catch some sleep.
To take or get suddenly, momentarily, or quickly: We caught a glimpse of the monarch.
To hear or listen to: caught the news bulletin on the radio; didn't catch the end of your sentence
To grasp mentally; apprehend: I don't catch your meaning.
To apprehend and reproduce accurately by or as if by artistic means: an impressionist who caught the effects of wind and water in his paintings.
Informal To go to see (a performance, for example): caught the midnight show.
To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period: catch some sleep.
To grasp mentally; apprehend: I don't catch your meaning.
To apprehend and reproduce accurately by or as if by artistic means: an impressionist who caught the effects of wind and water in his paintings.
Informal To go to see (a performance, for example): caught the midnight show.
To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period: catch some sleep.
To attract and fix; arrest: couldn't catch their attention; caught the teacher's eye.
To charm; captivate.
To deceive: failed to be caught by their fraudulent schemes.
Informal To go to see (a performance, for example): caught the midnight show.
To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period: catch some sleep.
v.
intr.
To become held, entangled, or fastened: My coat caught in the car door.
To act or move so as to hold or grab someone or something: tried to catch at the life preserver.
To be communicable or infectious; spread.
To ignite: The fire caught.
Baseball To act as catcher.
n.
The act of catching; a taking and holding.
Something that catches, especially a device for fastening or for checking motion.
Something caught: The mistake you found was a good catch.
Informal One that is worth having, especially an attractive or admirable marital partner.
The grabbing and holding of a thrown, kicked, or batted ball before it hits the ground.
A game of throwing and catching a ball.
To involve, often unwillingly: was caught up in the scandal.
To captivate; enthrall: I was caught up in the mood of the evening.
Sports
The grabbing and holding of a thrown, kicked, or batted ball before it hits the ground.
A game of throwing and catching a ball.
To involve, often unwillingly: was caught up in the scandal.
To captivate; enthrall: I was caught up in the mood of the evening.
A quantity that is caught: The catch amounted to 50 fish.
A choking or stoppage of the breath or voice.
A stop or break in the operation of a mechanism.
A tricky or previously unsuspected condition or drawback: It sounds like a good offer, but there may be a catch.
A snatch; a fragment.
Music A canonic, often rhythmically intricate composition for three or more voices, popular especially in the 17th and 18th centuries.
To understand; perceive.
To become popular: Skateboarding caught on quickly.
To move fast enough to attain the same progress as another; draw even: caught up to the leader on the last lap of the race.
To become equal or on a par with another: finally caught up with his brother in height.
To bring an activity to completion or to a state of currentness: catch up on correspondence.
To bring (another) up to date; brief: Let me catch you up on all the gossip.
To seize or lift suddenly: The wind caught up the umbrella and carried it off.
To involve, often unwillingly: was caught up in the scandal.
To captivate; enthrall: I was caught up in the mood of the evening.
Phrasal Verb(s): catch on
To understand; perceive.
To become popular: Skateboarding caught on quickly.
catch outTo detect (another) in wrongdoing or error. catch up
To move fast enough to attain the same progress as another; draw even: caught up to the leader on the last lap of the race.
To become equal or on a par with another: finally caught up with his brother in height.
To bring an activity to completion or to a state of currentness: catch up on correspondence.
To bring (another) up to date; brief: Let me catch you up on all the gossip.
To seize or lift suddenly: The wind caught up the umbrella and carried it off.
To involve, often unwillingly: was caught up in the scandal.
To captivate; enthrall: I was caught up in the mood of the evening.
Idiom(s):
catch fire
To ignite.
To become very enthusiastic.
To become the subject of great interest and widespread enthusiasm: an idea that caught fire all over the country.
Idiom(s):
catch it Informal To receive a punishment or scolding.
Idiom(s):
catch (one's) breathTo rest so as to be able to continue an activity.
Idiom(s):
catch up with
To find or arrest after a period of pursuit: The police finally caught up with him in Omaha.
To have unpleasant consequences for, especially after a period of quiesence: mistakes that caught up with him when he ran for President.
Idiom(s):
catch you laterInformal Used to express good-bye.
[Middle English cacchen, from Old North French cachier, to chase, from Latin captāre, frequentative of capere, to seize; see kap- in Indo-European roots.] catch'a·ble adj.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to take in and hold as if by using bait or a lure: caught in a web of lies; enmeshed in the neighbors' dispute; ensnared an unsuspecting customer; became entangled in her own contradictions; entrapped by a convincing undercover agent; snared by false hopes; tangled by his own duplicity; trapped into incriminating himself.
tv. to see or listen to something. (More specific than the colloquial sense, to manage to hear something.) : Did you catch that radio program about cancer last night?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History
catch (v.)
c.1205, from Anglo-Fr. cachier "catch, capture" (animals), from V.L. *captiare "try to seize, chase," freq. of L. capere "to take, hold" (see capable). Sense shifted from original meaning of "chase, hunt." Past tense form caught is rare instance of Eng. strong verb with Fr. origin, probably infl. by latch, the cognate native verb, which this word replaced. Noun meaning "that which is caught or worth catching" (especially of spouses) is from 1596. Catchy was a colloquial word in 1831. To catch on "apprehend" is 1884, Amer.Eng. colloquial. To catch (someone's) eye is first attested 1813, in Jane Austen. Catchword (1730) was originally the first word of the following page inserted at the right-hand lower corner of each page of a book; extended to "word caught up and repeated" (especially in the political sense) by 1795. Catch as catch can first attested 1393.
[kach] 
verb, caught, catch⋅ing, noun, adjective 