To catch means to grab or capture something that's moving through the air. When you catch a baseball, you reach out your glove and stop it from flying past you. When you catch a falling glass before it hits the floor, you've intercepted it mid-drop.

The word extends beyond physical catching: you can catch someone's attention by waving, catch their meaning when you suddenly understand what they're saying, or catch them in a lie when you discover they weren't telling the truth. When you catch a cold, the illness has somehow grabbed hold of you (though you certainly weren't trying to grab it back!).

You might also catch a bus if you arrive just in time before it leaves, catch a movie at the theater, or catch up with a friend you haven't seen in a while. When someone yells “Catch!” they're warning you that something's coming your way.

The word can be a noun too: a great catch in the outfield wins games, while the catch in a deal is the hidden problem or tricky condition that makes something less appealing than it first seemed. If an offer sounds too good to be true, people often ask: “What's the catch?”

Related words include catcher (the baseball position), catching (contagious, like a catching laugh), and caught (the past tense: “I caught the ball”).