CATCH

• catch past tense and past participle caught
• 1

  take and hold

• a) [intransitive and transitive] to get hold of and stop an object such as a ball that is moving through the air [↪ throw]:
• Stephen leapt up and caught the ball in one hand.
• 'Pass me that pen, would you?' 'Here you are. Catch!'
• The kids were throwing and catching a frisbee down on the beach.
• b) [transitive] to suddenly take hold of someone or something with your hand:
• He caught her elbow to steady her.
• Miss Perry caught hold of my sleeve and pulled me back.
• 2

  find/stop somebody

  [transitive]
• a) to stop someone after you have been chasing them and not let them get away:
• 'You can't catch me!' she yelled, running away.
• b) to find a criminal or enemy and stop them from escaping [= capture]:
• State police have launched a massive operation to catch the murderer.
• If you go back to the city you're bound to get caught.
• 3

  see somebody doing something

  [transitive] to see someone doing something that they did not want you to know they were doing
• catch somebody doing something
• I caught him reading my private letters.
• Gemma turned around and caught the stranger looking at her intently.
• catch somebody in the act (of doing something) (=catch someone while they are doing something illegal)
• The gang was caught in the act of unloading the cigarettes.
• He was caught red-handed (=as he was doing something wrong)taking money from the cash register.
• catch somebody at it
• We knew he'd been cheating, but we'd never caught him at it before.
• 4

  illness

  [transitive] to get an infectious disease:
• Anton caught malaria in Mali, and nearly died.
• Many young people are still ignorant about how HIV is caught.
• catch something from/off somebody/something
• Typhoid and cholera are often caught from contaminated water supplies.
• I caught chicken pox off my friend at school.
• catch your death (of cold) British English spoken (=get a very bad cold)
• Don't stand out in the rain. You'll catch your death.
• 5

  catch somebody by surprise/catch somebody off guard

  also catch somebody napping/unawares, catch somebody on the hop British English to do something or to happen when someone is not expecting it or prepared for it:
• Her question caught him off guard.
• 6

  catch somebody with their pants/trousers down

   to discover that someone is doing something that they should not be doing or has not done something that they should have done:
• He's not the first politician to be caught with his pants down, and he won't be the last.
• 7

  animal/fish

  [transitive] to trap an animal or fish by using a trap, net, or hook, or by hunting it:
• Did you catch any fish?
• Early settlers caught rabbits and squirrels and even rats in order to survive.
• 8

  catch a train/plane/bus

   to get on a train, plane etc in order to travel on it, or to be in time to get on a train, plane etc before it leaves:
• I caught the 7.15 train to London.
• There's a train in now. If you run, you'll just catch it.
• I have to hurry - I have a bus to catch.
• 9

  not miss somebody/something

  [transitive] to not be too late to do something, see something, talk to someone etc [≠ miss]:
• I managed to catch her just as she was leaving.
• I just caught the last few minutes of the documentary.
• Tumours like these can be treated quite easily if they're caught early enough.
• catch the post British English (=post letters in time for them to be collected that day)
• 10

  get stuck

  [intransitive and transitive] if your hand, finger, clothing etc catches or is caught in something, it gets stuck in it accidentally:
• His overalls caught in the engine.
• Her microphone was forever getting caught on her clothes.
• 11

  catch somebody's attention/interest/imagination etc

   to make you notice something and feel interested in it:
• Lucie whistled sharply to catch the other girl's attention.
• This is a story that will catch the imagination of every child.
• 12

  not catch something

  spoken to not hear or understand what someone says:
• I'm afraid I didn't catch your name.
• 13

  hear

  [transitive] to manage to hear a sound:
• I caught the muffled thud of a car door slamming in the street.
• 14

  catch you later

  spoken used to say goodbye:
• 'I'll give you a call in a couple days.' 'Okay. Catch you later.'
• 15

  do/see something

  [transitive] spoken especially American English to go somewhere in order to do or see something:
• We could catch a movie (=go to a movie).
• M Records caught his act and signed him immediately.
• 16

  catch a ride

  American English spoken to go somewhere in someone else's car:
• I caught a ride as far as Columbus.
• 17

  you won't catch me doing something

  also you won't catch me somewhere spoken used to say that you would never do something:
• I love dancing but you won't catch me being the first on the dance floor!
• 18

  catch it

  informal to be punished by someone such as a parent or teacher because you have done something wrong:
• You'll catch it if Dad finds out.
• 19

  catch a glimpse of somebody/something

   to see someone or something for a very short time:
• Fans waited for hours at the airport to catch a glimpse of their idol.
• 20

  catch sight of somebody/something

   to suddenly see someone or something that you have been looking for or have been hoping to see:
• I caught sight of her in the crowd.
• 21

  describe well

  [transitive] to show or describe the character or quality of something well in a picture, piece of writing etc [= capture]:
• a novel that catches the mood of post-war Britain
• 22

  burn

• a) 

  catch fire

   if something catches fire, it starts to burn accidentally:
• Two farm workers died when a barn caught fire.
• b) [intransitive] if a fire catches, it starts to burn:
• For some reason the charcoal wasn't catching.
• 23

  catch somebody's eye

• a) to attract someone's attention and make them look at something:
• Out on the freeway, a billboard caught his eye.
• b) to look at someone at the same moment that they are looking at you:
• Every time she caught his eye, she would glance away embarrassed.
• 24

  catch yourself doing something

   to suddenly realize you are doing something:
• Standing there listening to the song, he caught himself smiling from ear to ear.
• 25

  hit

  [transitive] to hit someone in or on a particular part of their body:
• The punch caught him right in the face.
• 26

  be caught in/without etc something

   to be in a situation that you cannot easily get out of or in which you do not have something you need:
• We got caught in a rainstorm on the way here.
• Here's a useful tip if you're caught without a mirror.
• 27

  catch your breath

• a) to pause for a moment after a lot of physical effort in order to breathe normally again:
• Hang on a minute - let me catch my breath!
• b) to stop breathing for a moment because something has surprised, frightened, or shocked you
• c) to take some time to stop and think about what you will do next after having been very busy or active:
• It was an enforced absence from work, but at least it gave me a little time to catch my breath before the final push.
• 28

  container

  [transitive] if a container catches liquid, it is in a position where the liquid falls into it:
• Place the baking sheet under the muffin pan to catch the drips.
• 29

  shine

  [transitive] if the light catches something or if something catches the light, the light shines on it:
• The sunlight caught her hair and turned it to gold.
• 30

  catch the sun

  informal if you catch the sun, your skin becomes red and sometimes sore because of the effects of sunlight:
• You've caught the sun on the back of your neck.
• 31

  wind

  [transitive] if something catches the wind or the wind catches something, it blows on it:
• Gary swung the sail round to catch the light wind.
• 32

  sport

• a) [transitive] to end a player's innings in cricket by catching the ball that is hit off their bat before it touches the ground
• b) [intransitive] to be the catcher in a game of baseball

• catch at something 

  phrasal verb
• to try to take hold of something:
• She caught at his arm, 'Hang on. I'm coming with you.'

• catch on 

  phrasal verb
• 1 to become popular and fashionable:
• The idea of glasses being a fashion item has been slow to catch on.
• 2 to begin to understand or realize something
• catch on to
• It was a long time before the police caught on to what he was really doing.

• catch somebody out

  phrasal verb
• 1 to make someone make a mistake, especially deliberately and in order to prove that they are lying:
• The interviewer may try to catch you out.
• 2 if something unexpected catches you out, it puts you in a difficult situation because you were not expecting it or not fully prepared for it:
• Even the best whitewater rafters get caught out by the fierce rapids here.

• catch up 

  phrasal verb
• 1 to improve and reach the same standard as other people in your class, group etc:
• If you miss a lot of classes, it's very difficult to catch up.
• catch up with
• At the moment our technology is more advanced, but other countries are catching up with us.
• 2 to come from behind and reach someone in front of you by going faster
• catch up with
• Drive faster - they're catching up with us.
• catch somebody up British English
• You go on ahead. I'll catch you up in a minute.
• 3 to do what needs to be done because you have not been able to do it until now
• catch up on
• I have some work to catch up on.
• I need to catch up on some sleep (=after a period without enough sleep).
• 4 to spend time finding out what has been happening while you have been away or during the time you have not seen someone
• catch up on
• When I got home I phoned Jo to catch up on all the gossip.
• I'll leave you two alone - I'm sure you've got a lot of catching upto do.
• 5

  be/get caught up in something

   to be or get involved in something, especially something bad:
• I didn't want to get caught up in endless petty arguments.

• catch up with somebody 

  phrasal verb
• 1 to finally find someone who has been doing something illegal and punish them:
• It took six years for the law to catch up with them.
• 2 if something bad from the past catches up with you, you cannot avoid dealing with it any longer:
• At the end of the movie his murky past catches up with him.

Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.