CATCH (3)

Catch, n. 1. 1. Act of seizing; a grasp. Sir P. Sidney.
2. 2. That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened; as, the catch of a gate.
3. 3. The posture of seizing; a state of preparation to lay hold of, or of watching he opportunity to seize; as, to lie on the catch. Addison.
The common and the canon law . . . lie at catch, and wait advantages one againt another. T. Fuller. 4. 4. That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the whole quantity caught or taken at one time; as, a good catch of fish.
Hector shall have a great catch if he knock out either of your brains. Shak. 5. 5. Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony. Marryat.
6. 6. pl. Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
It has been writ by catches with many intervals. Locke. 7. 7. A slight remembrance; a trace.
We retain a catch of those pretty stories. Glanvill. 8. 8. (Mus.) A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.