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PlainSpell

catch

UK /kæt͡ʃ/noun, verb

catch is spelled C-A-T-C-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 74 times per million words in written English, the 1,427th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, catch means “The act of seizing or capturing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of catch is catches.

How many letters and syllables are in catch?

Letters5: C-A-T-C-H
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing74 times per million words; the 1,427th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is catch?

Catch appears 74 times per million words in written English, the 1,427th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce catch?

  • UK /kæt͡ʃ/
  • UK /kɛt͡ʃ/
  • Australia /kæt͡ʃ/

Catch has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Nattes_à_chat-catch.wav, En-au-catch.ogg, En-us-catch.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with catch

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

catch vs ketch0 B

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of catch

  • catches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • catching participle, present
  • caught participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does catch mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The act of seizing or capturing.

    The catch of the perpetrator was the product of a year of police work.

  2. 2

    The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.

    The player made an impressive catch.

  3. 3

    The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.

    Good catch. I never would have remembered that.

  4. 4

    The game of catching a ball.

    The kids love to play catch.

  5. 5

    Something which is captured or caught.

    The fishermen took pictures of their catch.

  6. 6

    colloquialA find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.

    Did you see his latest catch?

  7. 7

    A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.

    She installed a sturdy catch to keep her cabinets closed tight.

  8. 8

    A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.

    There was a catch in his voice when he spoke his father's name.

verb

  1. 1

    To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape).

    I hope I catch a fish.

  2. 2

    To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive.

  3. 3

    datedTo marry or enter into a similar relationship with.

  4. 4

    To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc.

    If he catches you on the chin, you'll be on the mat.

  5. 5

    To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for.

    If you leave now you might catch him.

  6. 6

    To discover and observe (someone or something while it takes some action or exists) (sometimes, but not always, with implications of 'unpleasantly' or 'unexpectedly').

    He was caught in the act of stealing a biscuit.

  7. 7

    To record, for example on film or tape.

    It's the very first time such an elusive bird has been caught on film.

  8. 8

    To travel by means of.

    catch the bus

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Catch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanFang (the act of catching a ball), Haken (a hidden difficulty, especially in a deal or…), fangen (to capture or snare), einfangen (to contract a disease or illness), verstehen, begreifen (to perceive and understand)
Portuguesepegar, apanhadura, apanhada (the act of catching a ball), conquista (a find, in particular a boyfriend/girlfriend), tranca, tranqueta (a clasp which stops something from opening)
Spanishatrapada (the act of catching a ball), pega, traba, truco (a hidden difficulty, especially in a deal or…), partido, conquista (a find, in particular a boyfriend/girlfriend)
Frenchprise, touche, conquête (a find, in particular a boyfriend/girlfriend), loquet, loqueteau, verrou (a clasp which stops something from opening)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does catch come from?

From Middle English cacchen, from Anglo-Norman cachier, variant of Old French chacier, from Late Latin captiāre, from Latin captāre, frequentative of capere. Akin to Modern French chasser (from Old French chacier) and Spanish cazar, and thus a doublet of chase. Compare ketch.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after catch