(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief.
(v. t.) To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as,
to catch a bird or fish.
(v. t.) Hence: To insnare; to entangle.
(v. t.) To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as,
to catch a melody.
(v. t.) To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught
the adjoining building.
(v. t.) To engage and attach; to please; to charm.
(v. t.) To get possession of; to attain.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to
catch one in the act of stealing.
(v. t.) To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train.
(v. i.) To attain possession.
(v. i.) 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.
(v. i.) To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch.
(v. i.) To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate.
(n.) Act of seizing; a grasp.
(n.) That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened;
as, the catch of a gate.
(n.) 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.
(n.) That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the
whole quantity caught or taken at one time; as, a good catch of fish.
(n.) Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in
matrimony.
(n.) Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
(n.) A slight remembrance; a trace.
(n.) A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers
catch up each other's words.
