CATCH

Definitions

1. 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. 2. To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief. "They pursued . . . and caught him." Judg. i. 6.
3. 3. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish.
4. 4. Hence: To insnare; to entangle. "To catch him in his words". Mark xii. 13.
5. 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. 6. To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building.
7. 7. To engage and attach; to please; to charm. The soothing arts that catch the fair. Dryden.
8. 8. To get possession of; to attain. Torment myself to catch the English throne. Shak.
9. 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. 10. To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.
11. 11. 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.