- 1[countable] an act of catching something, for example a ball to make a great catch
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amount caught - 2[countable] the total amount of things that are caught a huge catch of fish
- 3[countable] a device used for fastening something a catch on the door safety catches for the windows I can't open the catch on this bracelet. difficulty
- 4[countable, usually singular] a hidden difficulty or disadvantage All that money for two hours of work—what's the catch? child's game
- 5[uncountable] a child's game in which two people throw a ball to each other person
- 6[singular] (old-fashioned) a person that other people see as a good person to marry, employ, etc. He's a good catch. Idioms
of ball
a difficult situation from which there is no escape because you need to do one thing before doing a second, but you need to do the second thing before you can do the first I can't get a job because I don't have anywhere to live, but I can't afford a place to live until I get a job—it's a catch-22 situation.
Check pronunciation: catch