as in random
lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern
we're always having drop-in guests at our beachfront cottage, and sleeping arrangements tend to be catch-as-catch-can
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of catch-as-catch-can
Here’s the writer Nick Paumgarten trying to drum up a Talk of the Town piece by wandering through the East Village and questioning random New Yorkers about what’s on their minds, a catch-as-catch-can method that, in its way, reflects the magazine’s democratic openness.
—
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 1 Dec. 2025
There’s a certain catch-as-catch-can ephemerality to this work, which tends to appear for quick two- or three-day engagements, sometimes in familiar places—Lincoln Center’s dizzying Festival of Firsts (in the David Rubenstein Atrium, through Oct. 23), for instance—and sometimes farther afield.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
Prison is a kind of black-comedic version of a factory: in contrast to the catch-as-catch-can prisons of preindustrial times, everyone is assigned a role and compelled to conformity through regimentation or isolation.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
The old days of barnstorming teams playing catch-as-catch-can schedules was no longer an acceptable business model.
—Richard Selcer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 June 2024
Cone collection, done by local residents who are paid by the bushel, is a catch-as-catch-can kind of business.
—Lydia Depillis, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 1 Dec. 2025
There’s a certain catch-as-catch-can ephemerality to this work, which tends to appear for quick two- or three-day engagements, sometimes in familiar places—Lincoln Center’s dizzying Festival of Firsts (in the David Rubenstein Atrium, through Oct. 23), for instance—and sometimes farther afield.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
Prison is a kind of black-comedic version of a factory: in contrast to the catch-as-catch-can prisons of preindustrial times, everyone is assigned a role and compelled to conformity through regimentation or isolation.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
The old days of barnstorming teams playing catch-as-catch-can schedules was no longer an acceptable business model.
—Richard Selcer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 June 2024
Cone collection, done by local residents who are paid by the bushel, is a catch-as-catch-can kind of business.
—Lydia Depillis, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catch-as-catch-can
Adjective
-
But, a series of random attacks that left two women dead and a man injured in Atlanta over the past few weeks have some locals on edge, and others wondering if the city is truly prepared to handle the safety of thousands of extra people.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
-
The vast majority of e-chucks are made of ceramic — hence Toto’s seemingly random decision to add them to its portfolio.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
There will be some scattered rain in cabin country up north Wednesday, but everyone else will see plenty of sun with heat but low humidity.—
Mike Augustyniak,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
-
Share a draft, then ask a focused question so collaborators offer helpful edits rather than scattered opinions.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
As a result, the exploit can decrement the variable an arbitrary number of times and then delete and free the chain when some objects still point to it.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
-
The French overthrew millennia of arbitrary hereditary rule but soon devolved into terror and war.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Catch-as-catch-can.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catch-as-catch-can. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
