catch

verb
UK: /kætʃ/
US: /kætʃ/

  1. To stop and hold a moving object or person, especially with your hands.

    1. Can you catch the ball for me please? [ ] [ ]
    2. I tried to catch the keys that he threw across the room to me. [ ] [ ]

  2. To capture a person or animal that tries to escape.

    1. The police will catch the thief soon. [ ] [ ]
    2. The security guard managed to catch the intruder before they could escape the building. [ ] [ ]

  3. To get an illness.

    1. I think I might catch a cold. [ ] [ ]
    2. She was worried she might catch the flu from her sick colleague. [ ] [ ]

  4. To get on a bus, train, or airplane.

    1. I need to catch the 8 am train. [ ] [ ]
    2. He had to rush to the airport to catch his flight to New York. [ ] [ ]

  5. To hear or understand something.

    1. Did you catch his name? [ ] [ ]
    2. I didn't catch what she said because of the loud music in the background. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

seize capture apprehend snag grab understand follow
catch noun

  1. The act of catching something.

    1. That was a great catch. [ ] [ ]
    2. The baseball player made an amazing catch in the outfield during the game. [ ] [ ]

  2. A hidden problem or disadvantage.

    1. What's the catch with this offer? [ ] [ ]
    2. There must be a catch; it sounds too good to be true, reading the fine print carefully. [ ] [ ]

  3. A device for fastening something.

    1. The catch on the door is broken. [ ] [ ]
    2. The mechanic replaced the broken catch on the car's hood to keep it secure. [ ] [ ]
catch phrasal-verb

  1. To understand something

    1. I didn't catch on at first. [ ] [ ]
    2. It took me a while to catch on to what the teacher was explaining in class. [ ] [ ]
catch transitive-verb

  1. To surprise someone doing something wrong

    1. I caught him stealing candy [ ] [ ]
    2. The teacher caught the students cheating during the important exam today. [ ] [ ]
catch intransitive-verb

  1. To become ignited or start burning

    1. The wood didn't catch. [ ] [ ]
    2. Despite multiple attempts, the damp firewood refused to catch in the fireplace. [ ] [ ]
catch idiom

  1. To understand something after some time

    1. I catch your drift. [ ] [ ]
    2. After the lengthy discussion, I finally began to catch her drift about the changes. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "catch" in English means: To stop and hold a moving object or person, especially with your hands., To capture a person or animal that tries to escape., To get an illness., To get on a bus, train, or airplane., To hear or understand something..

The phonetic transcription of "catch" is /kætʃ/ in British English and /kætʃ/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "catch": seize, capture, apprehend, snag, grab, understand, follow.

Example usage of "catch": "Can you catch the ball for me please?". More examples on the page.