to catch
- verb
- /kæʧ/
- You know, I, boy, I caught so much heat for that comment.
- caught in the middle
- caught in a cycle
- caught in a dilemma
So the drama on Sue we got caught in Thunder and lightning.
- So the drama on Sue we got caught in Thunder and lightning.
- I think Santa could probably catch some charges.
Examples
-
I got caught in a lie.
-
Luckily we caught her before she caused too much trouble.
-
So now, the more drugs someone is caught with, the longer the mandatory time in prison.
Academic text (1993) -
Of course, they all do it, but when someone gets caught, it's still disgraceful.
Academic text (1990) -
He nearly carries the day, but in the end, he's caught in his own trap.
-
Nikolai, if you didn't think you'd get caught, would you pay your taxes?
-
She was sorry that she got caught cheating on the exam.
-
Many people were caught in the sudden storm without shelter.
-
After the argument, I caught a lot of flack from my friends for my harsh words.
Synonyms
To experience something unpleasant, for example punishment or criticism
To receive punishment or bad results for doing wrong
To get a lot of blame or punishment for a mistake
To be punished or scolded by someone in charge
To accept unpleasant results and sometimes punishment for something you did
Get a strong scolding from someone after doing something wrong
To be punished for something you did wrong
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
To become very sick from being outside in the cold, often said as a warning
- Offensive
To find a dead person, often during police work or as slang for killing someone
- Informal
To not pay attention and miss what is happening around you, for example because you are daydreaming
- Informal
Notice someone being careless when they should be paying attention
Give something small to get something much bigger later
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Specialized
A player signals and catches a punt without running and cannot be tackled
- Specialized
Animals and other sea life that are caught by accident while people fish for other species
A 2002 American film by Steven Spielberg starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks
- Specialized
A small fenced area that holds animals like sheep or cattle for a short time
- Specialized
A quick sound made by briefly closing and opening the vocal cords before a vowel
- Jargon
A baseball play where an outfielder runs and grabs a ball very close to the ground
How Severe
Surface Forms
Etymology
Catch can mean 'to get' something bad because it originally meant to seize, so to catch trouble is to get the punishment or blame that comes to you.