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(), v. t.[imp. & p. p.Caught () or 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. Th Catch (), v. i. 1. To attain possession. [Obs.] Have is have, however men do catch. Shak. 2. To be held or impeded by entanglement or a light obstruction; as, a kite catches in a tree; a door catches so as not to open. 3. To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch. 4. To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate. Does the sedition catch from man to man? Addison. To catch at, to attempt to seize; to be eager to get or use. "[To] catch at all opportunities of subverting the state." Addison. To catch up with, to come up with; to overtake. Catch n. 1. Act of seizing; a grasp. Sir P. Sidney. 2. That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened; as, the catch of a gate. 3. The posture of seizing; a state of preparation to lay hold of, or of watching he opportunity to seize; as, to lie on the catch. [Archaic] Addison. The common and the canon law . . . lie at catch, and wait advantages one againt another. T. Fuller. 4. That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the whole quantity caught or taken at one time; as, a good catch of fish. Hector shall have a great catch if he knock out either of your brains. Shak. 5. Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony. [Colloq.] Marryat. 6. pl. Passing opportunities seized; snatches. It has been writ by catches with many intervals. Locke. 7. A slight remembrance; a trace. We retain a catch of those pretty stories. Glanvill. 8. (Mus.) A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words. スポンサード リンク
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