To chase; drive; hunt.To approach; go to seek speech with.To reach; arrive at.To reach in pursuit or by special effort, as a moving object or one about to move; come up to: as, I caught my friend on the road, or just starting; to catch the train.To lay hold of; grasp; seize; take: as, to catch a sword by the handle.Specifically To intercept and seize (something approaching or passing, especially in the air): as, to catch a ball.To take captive, as in a snare or trap; take with a lure or bait; insnare; entrap: as, to catch mice or birds; to catcl fish: often used figuratively in this sense.To seize after pursuit or search; apprehend; arrest: as, to catch a thief or a runaway horse.To get; obtain; gain possession of; acquire.To seize upon by attraction or impression; take and fix the attention of; hence, to gain influence over; captivate.To seize or apprehend by the senses or the intellect: as, to catch sight of something.To get; receive.To be affected or influenced by; become affected by or infected with; take: as, to catch cold or the measles; to catch fire.To entangle with or entrap in: as, she caught the fringe of her shawl on the door-knob.To seize upon or attack; fasten upon; become communicated to: as, the fire caught the adjoining buildings.To come on suddenly, unexpectedly, or accidentally: as, they were caught in the act.To lift or raise to a higher elevation.To take hold with the hand or hands; grasp. SpecificallyTo act as catcher in the game of base-ball.To acquire possession.To be entangled or impeded; become fixed; remain fast: as, his clothes caught in the briers; the lock catches.To take proper hold so as to act: as, the bolt does not catch.To be communicable or infectious; spread by or as if by infection.To endeavor to lay hold of; be eager to get, use, or adopt: with at.n. The act of catching or seizing; seizure.n. Specifically In base-ball and similar games, the catching and holding of a batted or thrown ball before it touches the ground.n. Anything that seizes or takes hold, that checks motion or the like, as a hook, a ratchet, a pawl, a spring-bolt for a door or lid, or any other contrivance employed in machinery for the purpose of stopping or checking certain movements.n. A choking or stoppage of the breath.n. The posture of seizing; a state of preparation to catch, or of watching an opportunity to seize.n. Anything caught; especially, a prize or booty; something valuable or desirable obtained or to be obtained; a gain or an advantage; often, colloquially, one desirable as a husband or wife on account of wealth or position.n. Specifically In fishing, the quantity of fish taken: as, the catch on the Banks during the season.n. A snatch; a short interval of action.n. A hold; a grasp; a grip.n. A slight or partial recollection.n. A trick; something by which one may be entrapped.n. In music, originally, an unaccompanied round for three or more voices, written as a continuous melody, not in score.n. An obsolete form of ketch.In agriculture, to germinate and grow, as a crop: as, the wheat will catch if the seed and season are good and the land well prepared.n. In agriculture, the extent or condition of the germination of a crop: as, a good catch of clover; if a good catch continues to thrive it will result in a good stand.n. In lock-making, a small lock-case containing a sliding bolt but having no key. The beveled- or latch-bolt is kept in an extended position by a spring or by gravity, and is controlled by a knob which slides in a slot in the case.