CATCH Catch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caught or Catched (; p. pr. & vb. n. Catching. Catched is rarely used.] Etym: [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. The soothing arts that catch the fair. Dryden.
8. To get possession of; to attain. Torment myself to catch the English throne. Shak.
9. 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.