Found 1 items, similar to To catch fire.
English → English (gcide) Definition: To catch fire Catch \Catch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caughtor Catched; p. pr. & vb. n. Catching. Catched is rarely used.] [OE. cacchen, OF. cachier, dialectic form of chacier to hunt, F. chasser, fr. (assumend) LL. captiare, for L. capture, V. intens. of capere to take, catch. See Capacious, and cf. Chase, Case a box.] [1913 Webster] 1. To lay hold on; to seize, especially with the hand; to grasp (anything) in motion, with the effect of holding; as, to catch a ball. [1913 Webster] 2. To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief. “They pursued . . . and caught him.” --Judg. i. 6. [1913 Webster] 3. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish. [1913 Webster] 4. Hence: To insnare; to entangle. “To catch him in his words”. --Mark xii. 13. [1913 Webster] 5. To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody. “Fiery thoughts . . . whereof I catch the issue.” --Tennyson. [1913 Webster] 6. To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building. [1913 Webster] 7. To engage and attach; to please; to charm. [1913 Webster] The soothing arts that catch the fair. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 8. To get possession of; to attain. [1913 Webster] Torment myself to catch the English throne. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 9. To take or receive; esp. to take by sympathy, contagion, infection, or exposure; as, to catch the spirit of an occasion; to catch the measles or smallpox; to catch cold; the house caught fire. [1913 Webster] 10. To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing. [1913 Webster] 11. To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train. [1913 Webster] To catch fire, to become inflamed or ignited. to catch it to get a scolding or beating; to suffer punishment. [Colloq.] To catch one's eye, to interrupt captiously while speaking. [Colloq.] “You catch me up so very short.” --Dickens. To catch up, to snatch; to take up suddenly. [1913 Webster]