3 PHRASAL VERB If you catch up on an activity that you have not had much time to do recently, you spend time doing it. □ [V P + on/with ] I was catching up on a bit of reading.
4 PHRASAL VERB If you catch up on friends who you have not seen for some time or on their lives, you talk to them and find out what has happened in their lives since you last talked together. □ [V P + on ] The ladies spent some time catching up on each other's health and families. □ [V P + with ] She plans to return to Dublin to catch up with the relatives she has not seen since she married.
5 PHRASAL VERB If you are caught up in something, you are involved in it, usually unwillingly. □ [be V -ed P + in ] The people themselves weren't part of the conflict; they were just caught up in it. [Also be/get V -ed P ]
▸ catch up with
1 PHRASAL VERB When people catch up with someone who has done something wrong, they succeed in finding them in order to arrest or punish them. □ [V P P n] The law caught up with him yesterday.
2 PHRASAL VERB If something catches up with you, you are forced to deal with something unpleasant that happened or that you did in the past, which you have been able to avoid until now. □ [V P P n] Although he subsequently became a successful businessman, his criminal past caught up with him. COLLOCATIONS catch VERB
9
catch + noun : glimpse, sight
14
catch + noun : attention, eye
18
catch + noun : chill, cold, flu, pneumonia
Catch-22 /kæ tʃ twenti tuː / also Catch 22 N‑SING [oft N n] If you describe a situation as a Catch-22 , you mean it is an impossible situation because you cannot do one thing until you do another thing, but you cannot do the second thing until you do the first thing. □ It's a Catch 22 situation here. Nobody wants to support you until you're successful, but without the support how can you ever be successful?
ca tch-all (catch-alls ) in AM, also use catchall N‑COUNT A catch-all is a term or category which includes many different things. □ Globalisation is a catch-all to describe increased international trade. □ Indigestion is a catch-all term for any kind of stomach distress.
catch|er /kæ tʃə r / (catchers ) N‑COUNT In baseball, the catcher is the player who stands behind the batter. The catcher has a special glove for catching the ball.
catch|ing /kæ tʃ I ŋ/ ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If an illness or a disease is catching , it is easily passed on or given to someone else. [INFORMAL ] □ There are those who think eczema is catching.
catch|ment /kæ tʃmənt/ (catchments ) N‑COUNT In geography, catchment is the process of collecting water, in particular the process of water flowing from the ground and collecting in a river. Catchment is also the water that is collected in this way. [TECHNICAL ]
ca tch|ment area (catchment areas )
1 N‑COUNT The catchment area of a school, hospital, or other service is the area that it serves. [BRIT ] □ [+ of ] …the catchment areas of the district general hospitals.
2 N‑COUNT In geography, the catchment area of a river is the area of land from which water flows into the river. [TECHNICAL ]
ca tch-phrase (catch-phrases ) also catch phrase N‑COUNT A catch-phrase is a sentence or phrase which becomes popular or well-known, often because it is frequently used by a famous person.
catchy /kæ tʃi/ (catchier , catchiest ) ADJ If you describe a tune, name, or advertisement as catchy , you mean that it is attractive and easy to remember. □ The songs were both catchy and original. □ The blog post tried to draw in readers through a catchy title.
cat|echism /kæ t I k I zəm/ (catechisms ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] In a Catholic, Episcopal, or Orthodox Church, the catechism is a series of questions and answers about religious beliefs, which has to be learned by people before they can become full members of that Church.
cat|egor|ic /kæ t I gɒ r I k, [AM ] -gɔː r-/ ADJ Categoric means the same as categorical .
cat|egori|cal /kæ t I gɒ r I k ə l, [AM ] -gɔː r-/ ADJ If you are categorical about something, you state your views very definitely and firmly. □ …his categorical denial of the charges of sexual harassment. ● cat|egori|cal|ly /kæ t I gɒ r I kli, [AM ] -gɔː r-/ ADV [ADV with v] □ They totally and categorically deny the charges. □ He stated categorically that this would be his last season in Formula One.
cat|ego|rize /kæ t I gəra I z/ (categorizes , categorizing , categorized ) in BRIT, also use categorise VERB If you categorize people or things, you divide them into sets or you say which set they belong to. □ [V n] Lindsay, like his films, is hard to categorise. □ [V n] Make a list of your child's toys and then categorise them as sociable or antisocial. □ [V -ing] …new ways of categorizing information. ● cat|ego|ri|za|tion /kæ t I gəra I ze I ʃ ə n/ (categorizations ) N‑VAR □ [+ of ] …the categorisation of new types of missiles.
cat|ego|ry ◆◇◇ /kæ t I gri, [AM ] -gɔːri/ (categories ) N‑COUNT If people or things are divided into categories , they are divided into groups in such a way that the members of each group are similar to each other in some way. □ [+ of ] This book clearly falls into the category of fictionalised autobiography. □ The tables were organised into six different categories. SYNONYMS category NOUN 1