Caught Catch I Fell Time Kætʃ Hold Cold

• she managed to catch the keys as they fell.
• i caught him when he fell.
• the dog caught the stick in its mouth.
• i threw the bag in the air and she caught it.

catch

Verb Forms

1. to stop and hold a moving object or person, especially in your hands
• She managed to catch the keys as they fell.
• I caught him when he fell.
• The dog caught the stick in its mouth.
• I threw the bag in the air and she caught it.
• ‘Throw me over that towel, will you?’ ‘OK. Catch!’
2. to hold a liquid when it falls
• The roof was leaking and I had to use a bucket to catch the drips.
3. to take hold of somebody/something
• He caught hold of her arm as she tried to push past him.
• He caught her up in his arms.
• She caught the bar with both hands as she fell.
4. to be in time for a bus, train, plane, etc. and get on it
• to catch a bus/train/flight
• We caught the 12.15 from Oxford.
• I must go—I have a train to catch.

Extra Examples

• After a while they left to catch their bus.
• He was still hoping to catch the 8.30 ferry.
• If you want to catch that bus, you'd better hurry!
• Then she had to leave to catch her plane.
• He was thinking of catching a plane home.
5. to capture a person or an animal that tries or would try to escape
• The murderer was never caught.
• Our cat is hopeless at catching mice.
• How many fish did you catch?
• The police say they are doing all they can to catch the culprits.
6. to get an illness
• It is unusual to catch measles more than once.
• I think I must have caught this cold from you.
7. if something catches your attention, etc., you notice it and feel interested in it
• A sign on the wall caught my attention.
• Over the years, the mystery has caught the popular imagination.
• There was one story in particular that caught her interest.
8. to notice something only for a moment
• She caught sight of a car in the distance.
• He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.
• I caught a look of surprise on her face.
• He caught a whiff of her perfume.
9. to hear or understand something
• Sorry, I didn't quite catch what you said.
10. to find or discover somebody doing something, especially something wrong
• I caught her smoking in the bathroom.
• You wouldn't catch me working (= I would never work) on a Sunday!
• She caught herself wondering whether she had made a mistake.
• He was caught with bomb-making equipment in his home.
• Mark walked in and caught them at it (= in the act of doing something wrong).
• thieves caught in the act
• You've caught me at a bad time (= at a time when I am busy).
11. to be in time to do something, talk to somebody, etc.
• I caught him just as he was leaving the building.
• I was hoping to catch you at home (= to see you at home when you were there).
• The illness can be treated provided it's caught (= discovered) early enough.
• to catch the post (= post letters before the box is emptied)
• Bye for now! I'll catch you later (= speak to you again later).
• You've caught me at a bad time.
12. to see or hear something; to attend something
• Let's eat now and maybe we could catch a movie later.
• Did you catch that show on the radio?
13. to happen unexpectedly and put somebody in a difficult situation
• His arrival caught me by surprise.
• She got caught in a thunderstorm.
14. to become stuck in or on something; to make something become stuck
• Her dress caught on a nail.
• He caught his thumb in the door.
15. to hit somebody/something
• The stone caught him on the side of the head.
• She caught him a blow on the chin.
16. to begin to burn
• The wooden rafters caught fire.
• These logs are wet: they won't catch.
17. if something catches the light or the light catches it, the light shines on it and makes it shine too
• The knife gleamed as it caught the light.
• A colourful glow appears as the light catches the glass.
18. if you catch the sun, you become red or brown because of spending time in the sun
19. to show or describe something accurately
• SYNONYM capture
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/capture_2
• The artist has caught her smile perfectly.
• Cameras caught Jessica headed to a photo shoot downtown.
20. to make a player unable to continue batting by catching the ball they have hit before it touches the ground
21. to be involved in an argument or fight between two other people or groups
• When they quarrel, I am often caught in the middle.
22. to suddenly feel a strong need to go to the toilet
23. to be put at a disadvantage
24. to be in a difficult situation when any action you take will have bad results
25. in a situation where you have to choose between two things, both of which are unpleasant
26. to stop breathing for a moment because of fear, shock, etc.
• When he said he had resigned, I caught my breath in surprise.
27. to start to be able to breathe normally again after running or doing exercise that makes you tired
28. to become ill with a cold
29. to have problems
• The film caught a cold over the outstanding debt.
30. to catch a very bad cold
31. to attract somebody’s attention
• Can you catch the waiter's eye?
32. to attract or please somebody
• She looked through the hotel advertisements until one of them caught her fancy.
33. to be punished or spoken to angrily about something
• If your dad finds out you'll really catch it!
34. to get an advantage over somebody by doing something when they are not expecting it and not ready for it
35. to surprise somebody by doing something when they are not expecting it and not ready for it
36. to upset somebody by reminding them of something they are particularly sensitive about
37. to catch somebody in the act of doing something wrong or committing a crime
38. to arrive or do something when somebody is not expecting it and not ready, especially when they are in an embarrassing situation
39. the person who takes the opportunity to do something before other people will have an advantage over them
40. to make somebody unsteady and in danger of falling
• I was thrown off balance by the sudden gust of wind.
• The sudden movement threw him off balance.
41. to make somebody surprised and no longer calm
• The senator was clearly caught off balance by the unexpected question.
42. (to put somebody) at a disadvantage or in difficulty
• OPPOSITE on the front foot
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/foot_1#front_idmg_8
• Advances in drone technology have caught lawmakers on the back foot.
• The side that’s on the back foot, struggling to defend, will usually give away more penalties.
• We'd like to put the fossil fuel industry on the back foot.

Word Origin

• Middle English (also in the sense ‘chase’): from Anglo-Norman French and Old Northern French cachier, variant of Old French chacier, based on Latin captare ‘try to catch’, from capere ‘take’.