catching
catch·ing/ˈkæt͡ʃɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
catching is spelled C-A-T-C-H-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables (catch·ing). It appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, catching means “Infectious, contagious” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in catching?
| Letters | 8: C-A-T-C-H-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: catch·ing |
| In writing | 16 times per million words; the 5,121st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is catching?
Catching appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st 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 catching?
- /ˈkæt͡ʃɪŋ/
- /ˈkɛt͡ʃɪŋ/
Catching has 2 syllables, split catch·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Persent101-catching.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of catching
- more catching comparative
- most catching superlative
- catchings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does catching mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
informalInfectious, contagious.
a pessimism that seemed to be catching
- 2
Captivating; alluring; catchy.
noun
- 1
The action of the verb catch.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of catch
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).