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Throw vs Catch - What's the difference?

throw | catch |

In obsolete|lang=en terms the difference between throw and catch

is that throw is (obsolete) a period of time; a while while catch is (obsolete) a type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.

As verbs the difference between throw and catch

is that throw is to hurl; to cause an object to move rapidly through the air while catch is (lb) to capture, overtake .

As nouns the difference between throw and catch

is that throw is the flight of a thrown object; as, a fast throw or throw can be pain, especially pain associated with childbirth; throe or throw can be (obsolete) a moment, time, occasion or throw can be while catch is (countable) the act of seizing or capturing (jump).

throw

English

Etymology 1

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

Verb

  • To hurl; to cause an object to move rapidly through the air.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.}}
  • To eject or cause to fall off.
  • * Shakespeare
  • There the snake throws her enamelled skin.
  • To move to another position or condition; to displace.
  • * , chapter=17
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.}}
  • (ceramics) To make (a pot) by shaping clay as it turns on a wheel.
  • (cricket) Of a bowler, to deliver (the ball) illegally by straightening the bowling arm during delivery.
  • (computing) To send (an error) to an exception-handling mechanism in order to interrupt normal processing.
  • (sports) To intentionally lose a game.
  • * 2012 , August 1. Peter Walker and Haroon Siddique in Guardian Unlimited, Eight Olympic badminton players disqualified for 'throwing games'
  • Four pairs of women's doubles badminton players, including the Chinese top seeds, have been ejected from the Olympic tournament for trying to throw matches in an effort to secure a more favourable quarter-final draw.
  • (informal) To confuse or mislead.
  • * 1999 , Jan Blackstone-Ford, The Custody Solutions Sourcebook - Page 196
  • "Jann, why does he hate me so much?" That question threw me. I was expecting a lunatic yelling profanities.
  • (figuratively) To send desperately.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2010, date=December 28, author=Marc Vesty, work=BBC
  • , title= Stoke 0-2 Fulham , passage=Stoke threw men forward in numbers as they attempted to find a way back into the game, and Mark Schwarzer was forced into a low save from Huth's close-range effort.}}
  • To imprison.
  • * 1818 , (Mary Shelley), (Frankenstein)
  • The plot of Felix was quickly discovered, and De Lacey and Agatha were thrown into prison.
  • * 1993 , Margaret McKee, Fred Chisenhall, Beale black & blue: life and music on black America's main street - Page 30
  • The standard method of dealing with an addict was to arrest him, throw him into a cell, and leave him until the agonizing pangs of withdrawal were over.
  • To organize an event, especially a party.
  • * {{quote-news, year=1986, date=March 1, work=Evening News
  • , title= Bash Planned , passage=And now, Clevelanders hoping to bring the Rock Roll Hall of Fame to their city are throwing a bash to commemorate the 34th birthday of disc Jockey Alan Freed's "Moondog Coronation Ball".}}
  • * 1979 , Working Mother - July 1979 Page 72[http://books.google.com/books?id=SWEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA72&dq=%22throw+a+party%22&hl=en&ei=KGUeTbvyA426hAfw6OC3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFkQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=%22throw%20a%20party%22&f=false]
  • Should you be interested, for whatever reason, it will tell you how to throw a party for your 40-year-old husband or your 100-year-old great-grandmother. It also describes games that can be played at various kinds of parties
  • To roll (a die or dice).
  • * 1844 , Samuel Laing translating (Snorri Sturluson), Heimskringla
  • The kings came to the agreement between themselves that they would cast lots by the dice to determine who should have this property, and that he who threw the highest should have the district. The Swedish king threw two sixes, and said King Olaf need scarcely throw .
  • To cause a certain number on the die or dice to be shown after rolling it.
  • * 1844 , Samuel Laing translating (Snorri Sturluson), Heimskringla
  • The kings came to the agreement between themselves that they would cast lots by the dice to determine who should have this property, and that he who threw' the highest should have the district. The Swedish king ' threw two sixes, and said King Olaf need scarcely throw.
  • (bridge) To discard.
  • * {{quote-news, year=1990, date=January 4, work=(The Washington Times)
  • , title= Sharp coup overcomes trump split , passage=Declarer threw his queen of spades on the high diamond. He then won the last three tricks with his ace, queen and nine of hearts behind East's jack third.}}
  • (martial arts) To lift the opponent off the ground and bring him back down, especially into a position behind the thrower.
  • To subject someone to verbally.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2007, date=June 11, author=Claude Salhani, work=UPI
  • , title= Analysis: Irony of Bush's European tour , passage=In other European cities the president visited this week, people waited for his motorcade to pass to throw insults at him, requiring the police to intervene with batons, water cannons and tear gas.}}
  • (said of animals) To give birth to.
  • * 1916 , Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association: Volume 49
  • At the end of the normal gestation period the cow threw two calf mummies as large as cats.
  • (said of one's voice) To change in order to give the illusion that the voice is that of someone else.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2005, date=April 13, author=Leon Neyfakh, work=Harvard Crimson
  • , title= BOOKENDS: Will the Real Jonathan Safran Foer Please Stand Up , passage=“Then, when I throw my voice, when I speak as someone who's quite different from me, it starts to feel very authentic.”}}
  • To show sudden emotion, especially anger.
  • * 1991 , Janet L. Davies, Ellen Hastings Janosik, Mental health and psychiatric nursing: a caring approach
  • Bill runs into the kitchen and tells Dad that Erik is throwing a tantrum. He tells Bill to go back and watch his program and to ignore his brother. Fifteen minutes later, Erik is still screaming
  • * 1996 , New York Magazine Vol. 29, No. 32 - 19 Aug 1996; Entertaining Mrs Stone
  • In 1975, pregnant with the second of her three children, she threw a hissy fit to get on a trip to Boston for elected officials.
  • To project or send forth.
  • * 1900 , , (The House Behind the Cedars) , Chapter I,
  • Warwick left the undertaker's shop and retraced his steps until he had passed the lawyer's office, toward which he threw an affectionate glance.
  • To put on hastily; to spread carelessly.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • O'er his fair limbs a flowery vest he threw .
  • To twist two or more filaments of (silk, etc.) so as to form one thread; to twist together, as singles, in a direction contrary to the twist of the singles themselves; sometimes applied to the whole class of operations by which silk is prepared for the weaver.
  • (Tomlinson)
    Synonyms
    * (cause an object to move rapidly through the air) bowl, bung, buzz, cast, catapult, chuck, dash, direct, fire, fling, flip, heave, hurl, launch, lob, pitch, project, propel, send, shoot, shy, sling, toss, whang * (eject or cause to fall off) eject, throw off * (move to another position) displace, relocate * See also
    Derived terms
    * a stone's throw * overthrow * throw a bone to * throw a fit * throw away, throw-away * throw a wobbly * throwback * throw down the gauntlet * throw in the sponge * throw in the towel * throwing * throw shapes * throw the book at * throw up * throw one's weight around

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The flight of a thrown object; as, a fast throw.
  • The act of throwing something.
  • A distance travelled; displacement; as, the throw of the piston.
  • A piece of fabric used to cover a bed, sofa or other soft furnishing.
  • A single instance, occurrence, venture, or chance.
  • Football tickets are expensive at fifty bucks a throw .

    Derived terms

    * throw pillow * throw-up

    References

    * Krueger, Dennis (December 1982). "Why On Earth Do They Call It Throwing?" Studio Potter Vol. 11, Number 1.[http://www.studiopotter.org/articles/?art=art0001]

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m), alteration of (m), from (etyl) . More at (m).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Pain, especially pain associated with childbirth; throe.
  • (Spenser)
    (Dryden)
  • (veterinary) The act of giving birth in animals, especially in cows.
  • Etymology 3

    From (etyl), from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A moment, time, occasion.
  • (obsolete) A period of time; a while.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , III.iv:
  • Downe himselfe he layd / Vpon the grassie ground, to sleepe a throw ; / The cold earth was his couch, the hard steele his pillow.
    Synonyms
    * (l)

    Etymology 4

    Noun

    (head)
  • 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