to catch
- verb
- /kæʧ/
- I got caught in traffic on my way to the meeting, making me late.
- get caught
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Watch on YouTubeSimilarly, if you are caught in a traffic jam, you cannot move.
- Similarly, if you are caught in a traffic jam, you cannot move.
Examples
-
-Quick, before they catch us.
-
- We're gonna catch traffic on the way Hollywood, then we're all screwed.
-
I'm not too good at algebra, but I think I might be able to help him catch up.
-
I've got a plane to catch.
-
The company has made giant strides, but has not yet caught up with its toughest competitors.
Academic text (2011) -
Delilah hurried out the door to catch up to the men carrying the pine box.
Fiction book (1991) -
The vocational track opens more career avenues for unskilled labor to catch up with high-skilled labor.
Academic text (1992) -
She caught me off guard when she asked for a raise unexpectedly.
-
Don't let distractions catch you from finishing your assignment on time.
Synonyms
To make something happen later than planned
To delay doing something on purpose to get more time
To cause a delay in plans or progress
To delay something until a later time
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
To become very sick from being outside in the cold, often said as a warning
- Informal
To try to get people to agree by being harsh or unpleasant
- Informal
Notice someone being careless when they should be paying attention
- 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
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
- Jargon
A baseball play where an outfielder runs and grabs a ball very close to the ground
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
How Delayed
Surface Forms
Etymology
Catch can mean to hold someone back, as the original idea of 'seizing' became used for things that stop you, so being caught in a line delays you.