catch
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Seizing or capturing.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kachIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkætʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
countable
The act of seizing or capturing.
countable
The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.
countable
The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.
countable
Something which is captured or caught.
countable
A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.
countable
A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.
verb
transitive
To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape).
Discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
Reach in time
“I have to catch a train at 7 o'clock.”
transitive
To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc.
transitive
To unpleasantly discover unexpectedly; to unpleasantly surprise (someone doing something).
transitive
To travel by means of.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.
Used this way, catch is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use catch
- “I have to catch a train at 7 o'clock.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
An act of capturing; a seizing by force or stratagem.
The physical act of seizing or taking hold of (something).
That which is, or may be, snapped up.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Playing the position of catcher on a baseball team.
The person who plays the position of catcher.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A structure in which water is collected (especially a natural drainage area).
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Understand, usually after some initial difficulty.
Take a short break from one's activities in order to relax.
Trap.
A phrase that has become a catchword.
See something for a brief time.
Be asleep.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Large American birds that characteristically catch insects on the wing.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.