Catch

Catch is a verb meaning to seize or grasp something that is moving or out of reach, or to cause something to be captured. It can also mean to contract or acquire an illness, as in catching a cold.

As a noun, catch denotes the act of catching, or the thing that has been caught, such as a ball or a fish. It can also refer to a complication or drawback in a deal, as in there’s a catch. In fishing, the catch is the quantity of fish caught, sometimes contrasted with bycatch, which are unintended species.

In sports, catching a ball is a fundamental skill in games such as baseball, football, and cricket. The term also appears in fishing and hunting contexts, where "the catch" indicates the harvest or yield.

In computing, catch is used in exception handling as a catch block (or catch clause) that handles runtime errors, typically following a try statement. The term has broadened to various metaphorical uses in programming and software design.

Related terms include catchphrase, a memorable line associated with a person or product, and catch-22, describing a paradoxical no-win situation. The phrase catch-22 originates from Joseph Heller's novel and has entered common usage to describe bureaucratic impasses.