capture

noun cap·ture \ ˈkap-chər , -shər \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

1 : an act or instance of capturing: such as

a : an act of catching, winning, or gaining control by force, stratagem, or guile

the capture of the city by enemy forces

b : a move in a board game (such as chess or checkers) that gains an opponent's piece

c : the absorption by an atom, nucleus, or particle of a subatomic particle that often results in subsequent emission of radiation or in fission

d : the act of recording in a permanent file

data capture

motion capture

2 : one that has been taken (such as a prize ship)

See capture defined for English-language learners

See capture defined for kids

Examples of capture in a Sentence

the capture of the city by enemy forces
a Spanish treasure ship was the most valuable capture ever taken by that privateer

Recent Examples of capture from the Web

According to Flores, some of the migrants in the caravan hope to sneak into the US illegally and evade capture by Border Patrol.

— dara lind, Vox, "Donald Trump is extremely mad about immigration, and also extremely confused," 2 Apr. 2018
The 4-year-old brown labradoodle eluded capture from an army of volunteers who had searched woods and set food traps to try and lure him out into the open.

— bill leukhardt, Courant Community, "Teddy The Labradoodle, Missing For Over A Month, Found Alive And Well," 28 Mar. 2018
The Tsilhqot'in people – one of Canada's aboriginal First Nations, pronounced Chilcotin – evaded capture by the vengeful British colonists for months, until one day the gift arrived with an offer of talks.

— author: meagan flynn, Anchorage Daily News, "Canada apologizes for brutal hanging of B.C. tribal chiefs 150 years ago," 27 Mar. 2018
Puigdemont's capture sparked protests by separatists in Catalonia’s main city of Barcelona and other towns in Spain's wealthy northeastern corner.

— editors, USA TODAY, "Campbell Soup, Egypt's election, Carles Puigdemont: 5 things you need to know Monday," 26 Mar. 2018
Randall Rogan, a Wake Forest University professor who is an expert on forensic linguistic analysis, said the person or people behind the explosions may get a thrill from evading capture.

— crimesider staff, CBS News, "A "game of wits"? Austin serial bomber may be seeking to "outsmart" police," 20 Mar. 2018
Re-capture Kelan Martin's Butler career: Kelan Martin leaves as a Butler all-time great, and that's not all On the other hand, Butler players rarely identify talent as what is needed to carry on tradition.

— david woods, Indianapolis Star, "Minus Martin, Butler's run of NCAA appearances in jeopardy," 19 Mar. 2018
According to Homan’s account, all 800 who eluded capture were the mayor’s fault.

— Washington Post, "Immigration agency’s latest California focus hits San Diego," 16 Mar. 2018
Still, most of the higher level traffickers elude capture, while prisons fill with low-level offenders.

— refinery29.com, "How Trump's Death Penalty Policy Could Benefit Drug Dealers," 11 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'capture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of capture

Medieval French, from Latin captura, from captus — see ¹captive

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1542

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

capture Synonyms

Other Game Terms

bezique, carom, convention, crap, euchre, gambit, monte, parlay, tierce

capture

verb

captured; capturing play \ˈkap-chə-riŋ, ˈkap-shriŋ\

transitive verb

1 a : to take captive; also : to gain control of especially by force

capture a city

b : to gain or win especially through effort

captured 60 percent of the vote

2 a : to emphasize, represent, or preserve (something, such as a scene, mood, or quality) in a more or less permanent form

… at any such moment as a photograph might capture …
—C. E. Montague

b : to record in a permanent file (as in a computer)

The system is used to capture data relating to the buying habits of young people.

3 : to captivate and hold the interest of

The performer captured our attention.

4 : to take according to the rules of a game

A knight captured his pawn.

5 : to bring about the capture of (a subatomic particle)

6 astronomy : to draw into the gravitational influence of a larger body

Asteroids were thought to be too small to capture a moon, but the moon might be a fragment that broke off.
—Kenneth Chang

—

capturable

play \ˈkap-chə-rə-bəl, -shrə-bəl\ adjective

See capture defined for English-language learners

Examples of capture in a Sentence

They were captured by enemy soldiers.
using traps to capture mice
The city was captured by the Romans.
She captured 60 percent of the vote in the last election.
The company plans on capturing a larger segment of the market.
The show has captured the attention of teenagers.

Recent Examples of capture from the Web

Later, and not captured on film, U.S. agents left the man in a park on the American side of the border and lost track of his whereabouts for nearly a month, NBC News has learned.

— NBC News, "Video shows U.S. agents trying to dump injured man over Mexican border," 11 Apr. 2018
First, Klimeczko positively identified Ibar as the face captured on the Casey security camera.

— lisa arthur, www.feloniousflorida.com, "The Faces of the Killers," 10 Apr. 2018
A few months later, the same officer was involved in a disturbing encounter with a black driver that was captured on dashcam.

— aaron gell, Longreads, "Did Brian Easley Have to Die?," 9 Apr. 2018
The incident unfolded Saturday in the city of Hurst and was captured on a home surveillance camera.

— dana hedgpeth, Washington Post, "House in Texas explodes after being struck by car," 9 Apr. 2018
Prosecutors said his actions were captured on the body cameras of the responding officers.

— staff reports, Philly.com, "South Jersey police officer charged with simple assault," 7 Apr. 2018
In a traffic encounter captured on a police body camera, a Tucson officer pulled over a dark-colored SUV for a red-light infraction only to learn that the driver was his boss.

— joe ferguson, azcentral, "Tucson police officer pulls over chief, gives him a warning for traffic infraction," 6 Apr. 2018
While boarding Air Force One en route from Maryland to West Virginia to discuss tax reform on Thursday, Trump found his windblown hair snapped by photographers and captured on video.

— raisa bruner, Time, "The Internet Can't Stop Cracking Jokes About Donald Trump's Hair Blowing in the Wind," 5 Apr. 2018
Authorities have said the family was in Newport, Oregon, about 8:15 a.m. March 24 and, about 24 hours later, Jennifer Hart was captured on surveillance cameras at a Safeway in Fort Bragg.

— kale williams, OregonLive.com, "Sheriff backtracks, now says neither Hart mom was wearing seatbelt at time of crash," 5 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of capture

1574

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

capture Synonyms

Synonyms

bag, catch, collar, cop [slang], corral, get, glom, grab, grapple, hook, land, nab, nail, net, rap, seize, snag, snap (up), snare, snatch, trap;

Antonyms

miss;

Near Antonyms

discharge, free, liberate, release;

drop, loosen, unhand;

Related Words

glove, halter, lasso, rope;

apprehend, arrest, detain;

bay, corner;

clasp, clutch, fasten (on), fist, grasp, grip, hold, latch (on or onto), secure;

rend, wrest;

enmesh (also immesh), ensnare, entangle, entrap, mesh;

abduct, kidnap, spirit (away or off);

Phrases

take hold (of);

Synonym Discussion of capture

catch, capture, trap, snare, entrap, ensnare, bag mean to come to possess or control by or as if by seizing. catch implies the seizing of something in motion or in flight or in hiding.

- caught the dog as it ran by

capture suggests taking by overcoming resistance or difficulty.

- capture an enemy stronghold

trap, snare, entrap, ensnare imply seizing by some device that holds the one caught at the mercy of the captor. trap and snare apply more commonly to physical seizing.

- trap animals
- snared butterflies with a net

entrap and ensnare more often are figurative.

- entrapped the witness with a trick question
- a sting operation that ensnared burglars

bag implies shooting down a fleeing or distant prey.

- bagged a brace of pheasants

CAPTURE Defined for English Language Learners

capture

noun

: the act of taking and holding someone as a prisoner or of being taken as a prisoner
: the act of getting control of something
: the act of putting information in a form that a computer can use or read

capture

verb

: to take and hold (someone) as a prisoner especially by using force
: to catch (an animal)
: to get control of (a place) especially by using force

CAPTURE Defined for Kids

capture

verb cap·ture \ ˈkap-chər \

captured; capturing

1 : to take and hold especially by force

The eagle captured its prey.

2 : to win or get through effort

The candidate captured more than half the vote.

3 : to get and hold

The seaweed strewn about … had captured her attention.
—Kevin Henkes, Olive's Ocean

4 : to put into a lasting form

She captured the scene in a photo.

Word Root of capture

The Latin word capere, meaning “to seize” or “to take,” and its form captus give us the roots cap, capt, and cept. Words from the Latin capere have something to do with taking. To capture is to take something or someone by using force. To accept is to take something willingly. Anyone capable of doing something is able to take on that task.