Catch \Catch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caughtor Catched; p. pr.
& vb. n. Catching. Catched is rarely used.]
[OE. cacchen,
OF. cachier, dialectic form of chacier to hunt, F. chasser,
fr. (assumend) LL. captiare, for L. capture, V. intens. of
capere to take, catch. See Capacious, and cf. Chase,
Case a box.]
1. To lay hold on; to seize, especially with the hand; to
grasp (anything) in motion, with the effect of holding;
as, to catch a ball.
2. To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief.
``They pursued . . . and caught him.'' --Judg. i. 6.
3. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as,
to catch a bird or fish.
4. Hence: To insnare; to entangle. ``To catch him in his
words''. --Mark xii. 13.
5. To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to
catch a melody. ``Fiery thoughts . . . whereof I catch the
issue.'' --Tennyson.
6. To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the
adjoining building.
7. To engage and attach; to please; to charm.
The soothing arts that catch the fair. --Dryden.
8. To get possession of; to attain.
Torment myself to catch the English throne. --Shak.
9. To take or receive; esp. to take by sympathy, contagion,
infection, or exposure; as, to catch the spirit of an
occasion; to catch the measles or smallpox; to catch cold;
the house caught fire.
10. To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to
catch one in the act of stealing.
1. To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train.
To catch fire, to become inflamed or ignited.
to catch it to get a scolding or beating; to suffer
punishment. [Colloq.]
To catch one's eye, to interrupt captiously while speaking.
[Colloq.]
``You catch me up so very short.'' --Dickens.
To catch up, to snatch; to take up suddenly.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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