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
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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
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Thankfully, there are self-aware jabs as well, and it’s all couched in a character- and ensemble-centric ending that has hearty portions that help the random sour bite go down smoothly.
-
Their choice of 14er was not random.
Adjective
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Friday, a weakening ridge and an approaching front will allow scattered showers and thunderstorms to develop.
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Share a draft, then ask a focused question so collaborators offer helpful edits rather than scattered opinions.
Adjective
-
For at least a decade, federal agents followed guidelines designed to prevent arbitrary civil immigration arrests of people at courthouses.
-
Some media outlets, however, reported that some of those detained were politicians or activists, leading to allegations of arbitrary detentions.
Cite this Entry
“Catch-as-catch-can.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catch-as-catch-can. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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