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On vs Catch - What's the difference?

on | catch |

As nouns the difference between on and catch

is that on is lamb while catch is (countable) the act of seizing or capturing (jump).

As a verb catch is

(lb) to capture, overtake .

on

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) (m), , see (m).

Adjective

(-)
  • In the state of being active, functioning or operating.
  • Performing according to schedule.
  • Are we still on for tonight?
    Is the show still on ?
  • (UK, informal) Acceptable, appropriate.
  • right on'''''; ''bang '''on'''''; ''not '''on
  • (informal) Destined, normally in the context of a challenge being accepted; involved, doomed.
  • "Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ?"You're on !"
    Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now.
  • (baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.
  • Synonyms
    * base (not informal)

    Adverb

    (-)
  • To an operating state.
  • turn the television on
  • Along, forwards (continuing an action).
  • drive on''', rock '''on
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2012 , date=May 5 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool , work=BBC Sport , url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17878435 , page= , passage=He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on , with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.}}
  • In continuation, at length.
  • and so on .
    He rambled on''' and '''on .
  • (cricket) In, or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman; leg.
  • (not US) Later.
  • Ten years on nothing had changed in the village.
    Antonyms
    * off * (to an operating state) off * (later) after, afterward/afterwards, later, subsequently, thence

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.
  • * Longfellow
  • I stood on the bridge at midnight.
  • At or near; adjacent to.
  • Soon we'll pass a statue on the left.
    The fleet is on the American coast.
  • Covering.
  • At the date of.
  • Some time during the day of.
  • Dealing with the subject of, about, or concerning something.
  • Touching; hanging from.
  • (informal) In the possession of.
  • Because of, or due to.
  • Immediately after.
  • Paid for by.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.}}
  • Away or occupied with (e.g. a scheduled activity).
  • Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with.
  • to play on a violin or piano
    Her words made a lasting impression on my mind.
  • (senseid) Regularly taking (a drug).
  • (senseid) Under the influence of (a drug).
  • (mathematics) Having identical domain and codomain.
  • a function on V
  • (mathematics) Having V^n as domain and V'' as codomain, for some set ''V'' and integer ''n .
  • an operator on V
  • (mathematics) Generated by.
  • Supported by (the specified part of itself).
  • At a given time after the start of something; .
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 24, author=Aled Williams, work=BBC Sport
  • , title=[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/14957961.stm Chelsea 4-1 Swansea] , passage=The Spain striker had given Chelsea the lead on 29 minutes but was shown a straight red card 10 minutes later for a rash challenge on Mark Gower.}}
  • In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series.
  • heaps on heaps of food
    mischief on''' mischief; loss '''on loss
    (Shakespeare)
  • (obsolete) of
  • * Shakespeare
  • Be not jealous on me.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Or have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?
  • Indicating dependence or reliance; with confidence in.
  • I depended on them for assistance.
    He will promise on certain conditions.
    Do you ever bet on horses?
  • Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion.
  • Have pity or compassion on him.
  • (obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of.
  • * Dryden
  • Hence, on thy life.
  • In the service of; connected with; of the number of.
  • He is on''' a newspaper; I am '''on the committee.
  • By virtue of; with the pledge of.
  • He affirmed or promised on''' his word, or '''on his honour.
  • To the account of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon.
  • On us be all the blame.
    A curse on him!
  • * Bible, Matthew xxvii. 25
  • His blood be on' us and ' on our children.
    Derived terms
    * depend on * on-campus * put on airs *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (Singapore) To switch on.
  • Can you on the light?
    Synonyms
    *

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Alternative forms

    * (l)

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Without.
  • Usage notes
    * Usually followed by a perfect participle, as being'', ''having , etc.

    Statistics

    *

    catch

    English

    Noun

  • (countable) The act of seizing or capturing. (jump)
  • The catch of the perpetrator was the product of a year of police work.
  • (countable) The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.
  • The player made an impressive catch .
    Nice catch !
  • (countable) The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.
  • Good catch . I never would have remembered that.
  • (uncountable) The game of catching a ball. (jump)
  • The kids love to play catch .
  • (countable) A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.
  • Did you see his latest catch ?
    He's a good catch .
  • (countable) Something which is captured or caught. (jump) (jump)
  • The fishermen took pictures of their catch .
    The catch amounted to five tons of swordfish.
  • (countable) A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.
  • She installed a sturdy catch to keep her cabinets closed tight.
  • (countable) A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.
  • There was a catch in his voice when he spoke his father's name.
  • It sounds like a great idea, but what's the catch ?
    Be careful, that's a catch question.
  • (countable) A crick; a sudden muscle pain during unaccustomed positioning when the muscle is in use.
  • I bent over to see under the table and got a catch in my side.
  • (countable) A fragment of music or poetry. (jump)
  • * {{quote-book, 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, chapter=The Tutor's Daughter, Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page=266 citation
  • , passage=In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.}}
  • (obsolete) A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.
  • * {{quote-book, 1678,
  • , passage=You lie at the catch again: this is not for edification.}}
  • * T. Fuller
  • The common and the canon law lie at catch , and wait advantages one against another.
  • (countable, agriculture) A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.
  • * {{quote-book, 1905, , Eighth Biennial Report of the Board of Horticulture of the State of Oregon, page=204 citation
  • , passage=There was a good catch of rye and a good fall growth.}}
  • (obsolete) A type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.
  • * 1612 , John Smith, Map of Virginia , in Kupperman 1988, p. 158:
  • Fourteene miles Northward from the river Powhatan, is the river Pamaunke, which is navigable 60 or 70 myles, but with Catches and small Barkes 30 or 40 myles farther.
  • (countable, music) A type of humorous round in which the voices gradually catch up with one another; usually sung by men and often having bawdy lyrics.
  • * 1610 , , act 3 scene 2
  • Let us be jocund: will you troll the catch / You taught me but while-ere?
  • * {{quote-book, 1966, Allen Tate, T. S. Eliot: The Man and His Work, page=76 citation
  • , passage=One night, I remember, we sang a catch , written (words and music) by Orlo Williams, for three voices. }}
  • (countable, music) The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse. (jump)
  • * {{quote-book, 2003, Robert Hugh Benson, Come Rack! Come Rope!, page=268 citation
  • , passage=The phrase repeated itself like the catch of a song. }}
  • (countable, cricket, baseball) The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.
  • * {{quote-news, 1997, May 10, Henry Blofeld, Cricket: Rose and Burns revive Somerset, The Independent citation
  • , passage=It was he who removed Peter Bowler with the help of a good catch at third slip.}}
  • (countable, cricket) A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.
  • * {{quote-news, 1894, September 16, , To Meet Lord Hawke's Team, The New York Times citation
  • , passage=
  • (countable, rowing) The first contact of an oar with the water.
  • * {{quote-news, 1935, June 7, Robert F. Kelley, California Crews Impress at Debut, The New York Times, page=29 citation
  • , passage= They are sitting up straighter, breaking their arms at the catch' and getting on a terrific amount of power at the ' catch with each stroke.}}
  • (countable, phonetics) A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.
  • * {{quote-book, 2006, Mitsugu Sakihara et al., Okinawan-English Wordbook citation
  • , passage=The glottal stop or glottal catch is the sound used in English in the informal words uh-huh 'yes' and uh-uh 'no'.}}
  • Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
  • * John Locke
  • It has been writ by catches with many intervals.
  • A slight remembrance; a trace.
  • * Glanvill
  • We retain a catch of those pretty stories.

    Synonyms

    * (jump) seizure, capture, collar, snatch * grasp, snatch * observation * prize, find; conquest, beau * (jump) haul, take * stop, chock; clasp, latch * snag, problem; trick, gimmick, hitch * (jump) snatch, fragment; snippet, bit * (jump) chorus, refrain, burden

    Derived terms

    * bycatch * catch fence * catchful * catchy * crowd catch

    Verb

  • (lb) To capture, overtake.
  • #(lb) To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape). (jump)
  • #:
  • #(lb) To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive.
  • #*1611 , :
  • #*:And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
  • # To marry or enter into a similar relationship with.
  • #*1933 , (Sinclair Lewis), Ann Vickers , p.108:
  • #*:The publicsaid that Miss Bogardus was a suffragist because she had never caught a man; that she wanted something, but it wasn't the vote.
  • #*2006 , Michael Collier and Georgia Machemer, Medea , p.23:
  • #*:As for Aspasia, concubinage with Pericles brought her as much honor as she could hope to claim in Athens..
  • #(lb) To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc.
  • #:
  • #*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 28, author=Jon Smith, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Valencia 1-1 Chelsea , passage=The visitors started brightly and had an early chance when Valencia's experienced captain David Albeda gifted the ball to Fernando Torres, but the striker was caught by defender Adil Rami as he threatened to shoot.}}
  • #(lb) To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for.
  • #:
  • #(lb) To discover unexpectedly; to surprise (someone doing something).
  • #:
  • #(lb) To travel by means of.
  • #:
  • #*1987 , , In the Name of the Father , p.111:
  • #*:After about a kilometer I caught a taxi to Santa Croce.
  • #
  • #*2002 , Orpha Caton, Shadow on the Creek , pp.102-103:
  • #*:Had Nancy got caught with a child? If so she would destroy her parent's dreams for her.
  • (lb) To seize hold of.
  • #
  • #:
  • #*, III.2:
  • #*:Her aged Nourse, whose name was Glaucè hight, / Feeling her leape out of her loathed nest, / Betwixt her feeble armes her quickly keight .
  • #(lb) To take or replenish something necessary, such as breath or sleep.
  • #:
  • #(lb) To grip or entangle.
  • #:
  • #(lb) To be held back or impeded.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
  • #(lb) To engage with some mechanism; to stick, to succeed in interacting with something or initiating some process. (jump)
  • #:
  • #(lb) To have something be held back or impeded.
  • #:
  • #(lb) To make a grasping or snatching motion (at).
  • #:
  • #(lb) Of fire, to spread or be conveyed to.
  • #:
  • #
  • #*1906 , Arthur W. Stevens, Practical Rowing with Scull and Sweep , p.63:
  • #*:Stop gathering, in that gradual fashion, and catch the water sharply and decisively.
  • #
  • #:
  • # To contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore.
  • #*2001 , John Lull, Sea Kayaking Safety & Rescue , p.203:
  • #*:If you are surfing a wave through the rocks, make sure you have a clear route before catching the wave.
  • #
  • #:
  • (lb) To intercept.
  • #(lb) To seize or intercept a object moving through the air (or, sometimes, some other medium).
  • #:
  • #
  • #*1811 , (Jane Austen), (Sense and Sensibility) , :
  • #*:she internally resolved henceforward to catch every opportunity of eyeing the hair and of satisfying herself,.
  • #
  • #:
  • #
  • #:
  • (lb) To receive (by being in the way).
  • #(lb) To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.).
  • #:
  • #(lb) To be touched or affected by (something) through exposure.
  • #:
  • #(lb) To be infected by (an illness).
  • #:
  • #(lb) To spread by infection or similar means.
  • #*(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)
  • #*:Does the sedition catch from man to man?
  • #*(Mary Martha Sherwood) (1775–1851)
  • #*:He accosted Mrs. Browne very civilly, told her his wife was very ill, and said he was sadly troubled to get a white woman to nurse her: "For," said he, "Mrs. Simpson has set it abroad that her fever is catching ."
  • #
  • #:
  • #*2003 , Jerry Dennis, The Living Great Lakes , p.63:
  • #*:the sails caught and filled, and the boat jumped to life beneath us.
  • #(lb) To acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or infection.
  • #:
  • #(lb) To be hit by something. (jump)
  • #:
  • #(lb) To serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish.
  • #*{{quote-book, year=1877, title= Annual Report of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, page=135
  • , passage=The nets caught well, and Mr. Deeley reported it the best fishing ground he ever tried.}}
  • # To get pregnant.
  • #:
  • (lb) To take in with one's senses or intellect.
  • #(lb) To grasp mentally: perceive and understand. (jump)
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.
  • #(lb) To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment).
  • #:
  • #(lb) To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully.
  • #:
  • (lb) To seize attention, interest.
  • #(lb) To charm or entrance.
  • #*2004 , Catherine Asaro, The Moon's Shadow , p.40:
  • #*:No, a far more natural beauty caught him.
  • #(lb) To attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense).
  • #:
  • Synonyms

    * (jump) fang, snatch, grab * (jump) capture, take; snare, hook * (jump) take, get

    Antonyms

    * drop, release

    Derived terms

    (Terms derived from the verb "to catch") * catchable * catchall * catchbasin * catcher * catch-breath * catch cold * catch a cold * catch a crab * catch a tan * catch as catch can * catch fire * catch it * catch on * catch out * catch over * catch up * caught in the act