Verb

To take control of; to seize by force or stratagem.

to capture an enemy, a vessel, or a criminal

* 2014 , Ian Black, " Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis", The Guardian , 27 November 2014:

Arrests and prosecutions intensified after Isis captured Mosul in June, but the groundwork had been laid by an earlier amendment to Jordan’s anti-terrorism law. It is estimated that 2,000 Jordanians have fought and 250 of them have died in Syria – making them the third largest Arab contingent in Isis after Saudi Arabians and Tunisians.

To store (as in sounds or image) for later revisitation.

She captured the sounds of a subway station on tape.

She captured the details of the fresco in a series of photographs.

To reproduce convincingly.

His film adaptation captured the spirit of the original work.

In her latest masterpiece, she captured the essence of Venice.

To remove or take control of an opponent’s piece in a game (e.g., chess, go, checkers).

My pawn was captured .

He captured his opponent’s queen on the 15th move.

* 1954 , Fred Reinfeld, How to Be a Winner at Chess , page 63, Hanover House (Garden City, NY)

How deeply ingrained capturing is in the mind of a chess master can be seen from this story.

Verb

To establish the identity of someone or something.

*

(biology) To establish the taxonomic classification of an organism.

*

To equate or make the same; to unite or combine into one.

* D. Ramsay

Every precaution is taken to identify the interests of the people and of the rulers.

* Burke

Let us identify , let us incorporate ourselves with the people.

(reflexive) To have a strong affinity (with); to feel oneself to be modelled on or connected to.

* 1999 , Joyce Crick, translating Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams , Oxford 2008, p. 117:

The dream is given a new interpretation if in her dream she means not herself but her friend, if she has put herself in the place of her friend, or, as we may say, she has identified herself with her.

To associate oneself with some group.

*

To claim an identity; to describe oneself as a member of a group; to assert the use of a particular term to describe oneself.

* {{quote-magazine

, year=2010 , author= , title=Youth Who Self-Identify as Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual at Higher Suicide Risk, Say Researchers , date=Feb. 6, 2010 , magazine=Science Daily citation , passage="The main message is that it's the interface between individuals and society that causes students who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual the most distress," said study first author Yue Zhao. }}