catch and release

noun phrase

variants or catch-and-release

1

: the sport of fishing in which fish are caught and then returned to the water alive

Practicing catch and release is one of the best ways to increase your future chances of catching bigger, trophy size fish.

—Don Moir

Teams win points for weighed blue marlin and billfish catch-and-release.

—Tina Harbuck

—often used before another noun

catch and release season

No one will argue the intent of catch-and-release fishing. To enjoy the thrill of landing a fish and then successfully releasing it to live another day …

—Doug Leier

2

informal : the practice of releasing undocumented immigrants from custody while they await a court hearing

If we're going to … deter more people from coming, that means ending catch and release … and removing people who have no legal reason to remain in the United States.

—John Cornyn

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined at sense 1