Synonyms of caught

caught 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in pregnant

containing unborn young within the body

after several years of trying to have a baby, the couple was surprised when they discovered she was caught

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pregnant
• gone
• expecting
• with young
• big
• expectant
• gravid
• quick
• heavy
• with child
• enceinte
• impregnated
• prenatal
• parturient
• gestational
• conceiving
• brooding
• childbearing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• barren
• nonpregnant
• infertile
• delivered
• miscarrying
• aborting

2

as in arrested

taken and held prisoner

after seeing how the caught soldiers had been treated, we resolved never to be taken alive

Synonyms & Similar Words

• arrested
• imprisoned
• captive
• captured
• jailed
• interned
• confined
• incarcerated
• kidnapped
• behind bars
• apprehended
• trapped
• bound
• enslaved
• occupied
• abducted
• indentured
• ensnared
• subdued
• subjugated

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• free
• released
• unrestrained
• unconfined
• liberated
• delivered
• freed
• emancipated
• paroled
• enfranchised

caught

2 of 2

verb

past tense of catch

1

as in grabbed

to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly

we tried to catch the kitten before she could sneak out the door

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grabbed
• snatched
• captured
• seized
• got
• landed
• trapped
• snagged
• nabbed
• hooked
• snared
• netted
• corralled
• copped
• nailed
• rapped
• grappled
• snapped (up)
• took hold (of)
• bagged
• collared
• arrested
• glommed
• nobbled
• apprehended
• grasped
• held
• clutched
• detained
• roped
• gripped
• cornered
• secured
• kidnapped
• gloved
• ensnared
• lassoed
• entrapped
• clasped
• enmeshed
• entangled
• abducted
• haltered
• fastened (on)
• fisted
• wrested
• rent
• meshed
• latched (on or onto)
• bayed
• spirited (away or off)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• missed
• released
• discharged
• freed
• dropped
• liberated
• loosened
• unhanded

2

as in got

to become affected with (a disease or disorder)

you'll catch the flu for sure if you don't get a shot

Synonyms & Similar Words

• got
• contracted
• took
• came down (with)
• went down (with)
• sickened (with)
• broke out (with)
• died (from)
• succumbed (to)
• failed
• weakened
• worsened
• wasted (away)
• sank
• withered
• languished
• wilted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recovered
• gained
• came back
• healed
• recovered (from)
• mended
• shook (off)
• snapped back
• recouped
• recuperated
• rallied
• rebounded

3

as in stopped

to bring (something) to a standstill

I caught myself just as I was about to step into the freshly poured concrete

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stopped
• halted
• stalled
• arrested
• stayed
• checked
• blocked
• suspended
• stilled
• drew up
• pulled up
• brought up
• hindered
• held
• held up
• snagged
• ended
• impeded
• fetched up
• obstructed
• detained
• baffled
• balked
• concluded
• stemmed
• held back
• clogged
• dammed
• terminated
• blockaded
• cut off
• suppressed
• called
• discontinued
• turned back
• squashed
• stunted
• bottlenecked
• repressed
• reined (in)
• squelched
• choked off
• stanched

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• continued
• kept (on)
• persisted
• carried on
• kept up
• moved
• proceeded
• marched
• progressed
• advanced
• pushed
• went along
• ran on
• drove
• stirred
• fared
• spurred
• propelled
• followed through (with)
• actuated
• impelled
• wended
• goaded
• budged

4

as in secured

to put securely in place or in a desired position

caught back her hair with a barrette

Synonyms & Similar Words

• secured
• fastened
• clamped
• hitched
• anchored
• fixed
• moored
• set
• stuffed
• embedded
• wedged
• lodged
• implanted
• entrenched
• ingrained

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• loosened
• pulled
• loosed
• unloosed
• unfastened
• extracted
• yanked
• tore (out)
• unloosened
• uprooted
• prized
• pried
• rooted (out)
• wrested
• unfixed

5

as in knew

to have a clear idea of

I didn't catch the point you were making about our nation's foreign policy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• knew
• understood
• saw
• recognized
• deciphered
• grasped
• comprehended
• got
• appreciated
• realized
• discerned
• sensed
• apprehended
• seized
• perceived
• conceived
• made
• beheld
• dug
• made out
• caught on (to)
• registered
• assimilated
• picked up on
• decoded
• twigged
• tumbled (to)
• intuited
• savvied
• grokked
• compassed
• absorbed
• cottoned (to or on to)
• cognized
• digested
• penetrated
• took in
• fathomed
• pierced

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• missed
• misunderstood
• misinterpreted
• mistook
• misread
• misconstrued
• misconceived
• misperceived
• misapprehended

6

as in tricked

to cause to believe what is untrue

a number of media outlets were caught by the woman's hard-luck story

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tricked
• deceived
• fooled
• teased
• misled
• duped
• kidded
• suckered
• juggled
• hoodwinked
• snookered
• stung
• conned
• bamboozled
• strung along
• deluded
• gulled
• sucked in
• gaffed
• bluffed
• cheated
• beguiled
• misinformed
• humbugged
• misguided
• hornswoggled
• snowed
• burned
• had
• hoaxed
• cozened
• had on
• buffaloed
• gammoned
• spoofed
• faked out
• took in
• stuck
• pulled one's leg
• did a number on
• hustled
• pulled the wool over one's eyes
• swindled
• put on
• shortchanged
• defrauded
• led one down the garden path
• rooked
• flimflammed
• fleeced
• mulcted
• diddled
• squeezed
• euchred
• bled
• skinned
• chiseled

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• exposed
• revealed
• uncovered
• undeceived
• unmasked
• told
• showed up
• disclosed
• divulged
• unveiled
• debunked
• disillusioned
• disabused
• disenchanted
• uncloaked

7

as in encountered

to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face

I'll catch you at the library tomorrow

Synonyms & Similar Words

• encountered
• met
• confronted
• greeted
• happened (upon)
• stumbled (upon)
• ran into
• ran across
• bumped into
• faced
• accosted
• chanced (upon)
• ran upon
• crossed paths (with)
• passed
• saluted
• crossed
• collided (with)
• crisscrossed
• crashed (into)
• hit (upon)
• lit (upon)
• tumbled (to)
• reencountered
• remet

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• escaped
• avoided
• shook
• evaded
• ducked
• eluded
• shunned
• dodged

8

as in noticed

to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes

I looked out the window just in time to catch the neighbor's dog digging up my flower bed

Synonyms & Similar Words

• noticed
• spotted
• saw
• eyed
• regarded
• spied
• remarked
• viewed
• noted
• observed
• sighted
• watched
• looked (at)
• perceived
• witnessed
• beheld
• discerned
• espied
• distinguished
• identified
• laid eyes on
• considered
• got a load of
• descried
• set eyes on
• picked out
• studied
• made out
• scanned
• marked
• attended (to)
• examined
• inspected
• glimpsed
• surveyed
• heeded
• scrutinized
• picked up
• glanced (at)
• peered (at)
• minded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignored
• neglected
• disregarded
• passed over
• missed
• overlooked
• overpassed

9

as in chased

to move fast enough to get even with

despite the suspect's considerable lead, the fleet-footed police officer was able to catch him and make an arrest

Synonyms & Similar Words

• chased
• overtook
• caught up (with)
• reached
• pursued
• overhauled
• passed
• gained
• surpassed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fell short

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of caught

Verb

Phillips caught a bad break when her approach to the green hit a tree branch on its upward flight and dropped 20 yards short of the green. — Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026

China was also caught in the regional sell-off, with the tech-heavy STAR Market and the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence Index both tumbling more than 4%. — Lee Ying Shan,jenny Lee, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026

He was fined $500,000 after the team was caught filming defensive signals from the New York Jets during a game. — ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026

Those supplies are often caught in geopolitical crosshairs, as the US and China — locked in a fierce AI race — maneuver to deny each other technological advantages. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 5 Nov. 2026

Rice caught a team-high seven passes on eight targets for 53 yards and a touchdown against Denver. — Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2026

Aronson-Rath caught the journalism bug writing for The China Post, an English-language newspaper for expats in Taipei, after graduating from the University of Wisconsin. — Marlow Stern, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026

Jordan Clarkson caught Buddy Hield overcorrecting at the arc and took a straight-line drive to the basket. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026

On this day in 1605, English authorities caught a man in the cellar underneath the House of Lords in London, surrounded by (badly hidden) barrels of gunpowder. — Lucia Barnum, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Oct. 2026