Origin: Germanic Old English suffix
Definition, synonyms and related words
simple past tense and past participle of catch
"I accidentally caught my foot on the rug while trying to sneak into the kitchen."
In plain English: To be caught means to get discovered doing something you shouldn't do or to be physically trapped by someone or something.
"She realized she had caught the bus just in time."
Usage: Use "caught" to describe successfully seizing something with your hands or trapping it within an enclosure, such as catching a ball or getting caught in rain. It also serves as the past tense for accidentally discovering someone doing something wrong, like being caught stealing.
Of the method of being out in which the striker hits the ball and a fielder catches it.
"The batsman was caught when he tried to cut the delivery but missed, allowing the wicketkeeper to secure the ball cleanly behind him."
In plain English: Caught describes being found out or discovered doing something you were not supposed to do.
"The fish was caught in the net."
Usage: As an adjective describing a specific cricket outcome, caught means the batsman hit the ball directly into a fielder's hands who then completed the dismissal before the ball touched the ground. Do not use this term for general situations where someone is physically trapped or detained, as those contexts require different verbs like "trapped" or "arrested."
Caught is the past tense of catch, originating from Old English cattian meaning to seize or take hold of something. It entered Middle English with the same core sense of capturing an object or person by hand or trap.