catch

Universal Words verb, noun verb (caught, caught ) hold 1 [VN] to stop and hold a moving object, especially in your hands: She managed to catch the keys as they fell. * 'Throw me over that towel, will you?' 'OK. Catch!' * The dog caught the stick in its mouth. 2 [VN] to hold a liquid when it falls: The roof was leaking and I had to use a bucket to catch the drips. 3 [VN] [usually +adv./prep.] to take hold of sb/sth: He caught hold of her arm as she tried to push past him. capture 4 [VN] to capture a person or an animal that tries or would try to escape: The murderer was never caught. * Our cat is hopeless at catching mice. * How many fish did you catch? sb doing sth 5 to find or discover sb doing sth, especially sth wrong: [VN-ing] I caught her smoking in the bathroom. * You wouldn't catch me working (= I would never work) on a Sunday! * She caught herself wondering whether she had made a mistake. * [VN+adv./prep.] He was caught with bomb-making equipment in his home. * Mark walked in and caught them at it (= in the act of doing sth wrong). * thieves caught in the act * You've caught me at a bad time (= at a time when I am busy). be in time 6 [VN] to be in time to do sth, talk to sb, etc: I caught him just as he was leaving the building. * I was hoping to catch you at home (= to telephone you at home when you were there). * The illness can be treated provided it's caught (= discovered) early enough. * (BrE) to catch the post (= post letters before the box is emptied) * (BrE, spoken) Bye for now! I'll catch you later (= speak to you again later). bus / train / plane 7 [VN] to be in time for a bus, train, plane, etc. and get on it: We caught the 12.15 from Oxford. * I must go-I have a train to catch. happen unexpectedly 8 [VN] to happen unexpectedly and put sb in a difficult situation: His arrival caught me by surprise. * She got caught in a thunderstorm. see / hear 9 [VN] (informal, especially AmE) to see or hear sth; to attend sth: Let's eat now and maybe we could catch a movie later. illness 10 [VN] to get an illness: to catch measles * I think I must have caught this cold from you. become stuck 11 ~ (sth) (in / on sth) to become stuck in or on sth; to make sth become stuck: [V] Her dress caught on a nail. * [VN] He caught his thumb in the door. hit 12 [+adv./prep.] to hit sb/sth: [VN] The stone caught him on the side of the head. * [VNN] She caught him a blow on the chin. notice 13 [VN] to notice sth only for a moment: She caught sight of a car in the distance. * He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. * I caught a look of surprise on her face. * He caught a whiff of her perfume. hear / understand 14 [VN] to hear or understand sth: Sorry, I didn't quite catch what you said. interest 15 [VN] ~ sb's interest, imagination, attention, etc. if sth catches your interest, etc., you notice it and feel interested in it show accurately 16 [VN] to show or describe sth accurately: The artist has caught her smile perfectly. light 17 [VN] if sth catches the light or the light catches it, the light shines on it and makes it shine too: The knife gleamed as it caught the light. the sun 18 [VN] (informal) if you catch the sun, you become red or brown because of spending time in the sun burn 19 to begin to burn: [VN] The wooden rafters caught fire. * [V] These logs are wet: they won't catch. in cricket 20 [VN] to make a player unable to continue BATTING by catching the ball they have hit before it touches the ground IDIOMS catch your breath 1 to stop breathing for a moment because of fear, shock, etc. 2 to breathe normally again after running or doing some tiring exercise catch your death (of cold) (old-fashioned, informal) to catch a very bad cold catch sb's eye to attract sb's attention: Can you catch the waiter's eye? catch it (BrE) (AmE catch hell, get it) (spoken) to be punished or spoken to angrily about sth: If your dad finds out you'll really catch it! catch sb napping (BrE) to get an advantage over sb by doing sth when they are not expecting it and not ready for it catch sb on the hop to surprise sb by doing sth when they are not expecting it and not ready for it catch sb red-handed to catch sb in the act of doing sth wrong or committing a crime catch sb with their pants down (BrE also catch sb with their trousers down) (informal) to arrive or do sth when sb is not expecting it and not ready, especially when they are in an embarrassing situation moreatBALANCEn., CLEFTadj., FANCYn., RAWn., ROCKn., SHORTadj. PHRASALVERBS catch at sth = CLUTCHATSTH catch on to become popular or fashionable: He invented an electric car, but it never really caught on. catch on (to sth) (informal) to understand sth: He is very quick to catch on to things. catch sb out 1 to surprise sb and put them in a difficult position: Many investors were caught out by the fall in share prices. 2 to show that sb does not know much or is doing sth wrong: They tried to catch her out with a difficult question. catch up on sth 1 to spend extra time doing sth because you have not done it earlier: I have a lot of work to catch up on. 2 to find out about things that have happened: We spent the evening catching up on each other's news. be / get caught up in sth to become involved in sth, especially when you do not want to be: Innocent passers-by got caught up in the riots. catch up (with sb) (BrE also catch sb up) 1 to reach sb who is ahead by going faster: Go on ahead. I'll catch up with you. * I'll catch you up. 2 to reach the same level or standard as sb who was better or more advanced: After missing a term through illness he had to work hard to catch up with the others. catch up with sb 1 to finally start to cause problems for sb after they have managed to avoid this for some time: She was terrified that one day her past problems would catch up with her. 2 if the police or authorities catch up with sb, they find and punish them after some time: The law caught up with him years later when he had moved to Spain. noun of ball 1 [C] an act of catching sth, for example a ball: to make a catch amount caught 2 [C] the total amount of things that are caught: a huge catch of fish fastening 3 [C] a device used for fastening sth: a catch on the door * safety catches for the windows * I can't open the catch on this bracelet. difficulty 4 [C,usually sing.] a hidden difficulty or disadvantage: All that money for two hours' work-what's the catch? child's game 5 [U] a child's game in which two people throw a ball to each other person 6 [sing.] (old-fashioned) a person that other people see as a good person to marry, employ, etc: He's a good catch. IDIOMS (a) catch-22