Origin: Latin suffix -ure
Capture has 13 different meanings across 2 categories:
the act of forcibly dispossessing an owner of property
"The invading army captured the village's grain stores, leaving the villagers without food for weeks."
a process whereby a star or planet holds an object in its gravitational field
"The massive black hole's gravity is strong enough to capture passing asteroids, pulling them into permanent orbits around it."
any process in which an atomic or nuclear system acquires an additional particle
"The experimental data showed that the excited nucleus successfully captured a neutron to move into a more stable state."
the removal of an opponent's piece from the chess board
"She smiled triumphantly after her knight successfully captured his bishop on f3, gaining a crucial material advantage in the endgame."
An act of capturing; a seizing by force or stratagem.
"The dramatic photograph managed to capture the raw emotion on her face just before she ran away."
In plain English: Capture is the act of successfully taking someone or something into your control so they can no longer escape.
"The photographer tried to capture the perfect moment in her camera roll."
Usage: Use "capture" as a noun to refer to the successful act of taking someone or something into custody or possession. Do not use it to describe the general process of recording an image or sound, as that is a verb function reserved for digital media contexts.
succeed in representing or expressing something intangible
"capture the essence of Spring"
"capture an idea"
bring about the capture of an elementary particle or celestial body and causing it enter a new orbit
"This nucleus has captured the slow-moving neutrons"
"The star captured a comet"
take possession of by force, as after an invasion
"the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants"
"The army seized the town"
"The militia captured the castle"
To take control of; to seize by force or stratagem.
"The special forces managed to capture the enemy stronghold after hours of intense combat."
In plain English: To capture means to catch or take control of someone or something so they cannot escape.
"The photographer managed to capture a perfect sunset over the ocean."
Usage: Use capture to describe successfully taking possession of something or someone, such as an enemy soldier or a photograph of a moment. Do not use it to mean simply finding or locating an object unless you have also gained control over it.
The word capture entered English from Middle French, replacing the native Old English terms fenġ and ġefōn. It derives from the Latin captūra, which originally referred to the act of taking or seizing something.