different between spot vs catch

English

Etymology

From Middle English spot, spotte, partially from Middle Dutch spotte (“spot, speck”), and partially merging with Middle English splot, from Old English splott (“spot, plot of land”). Cognate with North Frisian spot (“speck, piece of ground”), Low German spot (“speck”), Old Norse spotti (“small piece”). See also splot, splotch.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /sp?t/
• Rhymes: -?t
• (US) IPA^(key): /sp?t/

Noun

spot (plural spots)

1. A round or irregular patch on the surface of a thing having a different color, texture etc. and generally round in shape.

   The leopard is noted for the spots of color in its fur.

   Why do ladybugs have spots?

2. A stain or disfiguring mark.

   I have tried everything, and I can’t get this spot out.

3. A pimple, papule or pustule.

   That morning, I saw that a spot had come up on my chin.

   I think she's got chicken pox; she's covered in spots.

4. A small, unspecified amount or quantity.

   Would you like to come round on Sunday for a spot of lunch?

5. (slang, US) A bill of five-dollar or ten-dollar denomination in dollars.

   Here's the twenty bucks I owe you, a ten spot and two five spots.

6. A location or area.

   I like to eat lunch in a pleasant spot outside.

   For our anniversary we went back to the same spot where we first met.

   • 1800, William Wordsworth, Hart-leap Well

     "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is curs'd."

   • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France [1]

     Yachvilli made it 6-0 with a second sweet strike from 45 metres after Matt Stevens was penalised for collapsing a scrum, and then slid another penalty just wide from the same spot.

7. A parking space.
8. (sports) An official determination of placement.

   The fans were very unhappy with the referee's spot of the ball.

9. A bright lamp; a spotlight.
10. (US, advertising) A brief advertisement or program segment on television.

    Did you see the spot on the news about the shoelace factory?

11. Difficult situation; predicament.

    She was in a real spot when she ran into her separated husband while on a date.

12. (gymnastics, dance, weightlifting) One who spots (supports or assists a maneuver, or is prepared to assist if safety dictates); a spotter.
13. (soccer) Penalty spot.
14. The act of spotting or noticing something.

    - You've misspelled "terrapin" here.

    - Whoops. Good spot.

15. A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called from a spot on its head just above the beak.
16. A food fish (Leiostomus xanthurus) of the Atlantic coast of the United States, with a black spot behind the shoulders and fifteen oblique dark bars on the sides.
17. The southern redfish, or red horse (Sciaenops ocellatus), which has a spot on each side at the base of the tail.
18. (in the plural, brokers' slang, dated) Commodities, such as merchandise and cotton, sold for immediate delivery.
19. An autosoliton.
20. (finance) A decimal point; point.

    Twelve spot two five pounds sterling. (ie. £12.25)

21. Any of various points marked on the table, from which balls are played, in snooker, pool, billiards, etc.
22. Any of the balls marked with spots in the game of pool, which one player aims to pot, the other player taking the stripes.

Hyponyms

• sitspot
• shot spot
• sweet spot

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Catalan: espot

Translations

Verb

spot (third-person singular simple present spots, present participle spotting, simple past and past participle spotted)

1. (transitive) To see, find; to pick out, notice, locate, distinguish or identify.
2. (finance) To loan a small amount of money to someone.

   I’ll spot you ten dollars for lunch.

3. (transitive, intransitive) To stain; to leave a spot (on).

   Hard water will spot if it is left on a surface.

   a garment spotted with mould

4. To remove, or attempt to remove, a stain.

   I spotted the carpet where the child dropped spaghetti.

5. To retouch a photograph on film to remove minor flaws.
6. (gymnastics, dance, weightlifting, climbing) To support or assist a maneuver, or to be prepared to assist if safety dictates.

   I can’t do a back handspring unless somebody spots me.

7. (dance) To keep the head and eyes pointing in a single direction while turning.

   Most figure skaters do not spot their turns like dancers do.

8. To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation.

   • Link not me in self same chain With the wicked-working folk, Who their spotted thoughts do cloak.

   • If ever I shall close these eyes but once, / May I live spotted for my perjury.

9. To cut or chip (timber) in preparation for hewing.
10. To place an object at a location indicated by a spot. Notably in billiards or snooker.

    The referee had to spot the pink on the blue spot.

Translations

Adjective

spot (not comparable)

1. (commerce, finance) Available on the spot; for immediate payment or delivery.

   spot wheat; spot cash; a spot contract

Translations

Anagrams

• OTPs, POST, POTS, PTOs, Post, TPOs, opts, post, post-, post., pots, stop, tops

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?sb??d?]

Etymology 1

From the verb spotte (“to mock”). Compare Old Norse spottr, German Spott.

Noun

spot c (singular definite spotten, not used in plural form)

1. mockery, ridicule
   • 2013, Jan Guillou, Vejen til Jerusalem, Modtryk ?ISBN

     Men at også den anden søn savnede alle mandlige dyder, var straks værre og gjorde spotten større.

     But that the other son, too, lacked all male virtues, was much worse and enlarged the mockery.

   • 2010, Tove Ditlevsen, Man gjorde et barn fortræd, Gyldendal A/S ?ISBN

     Hun havde råd til at smile igen, så ligegyldig var deres spot hende.

     She could afford to smile back, that was how little she cared about their ridicule.

   • 2015, Jørgen Christensen, Muhammed-tegningerne, demokratiet og sikkerhedspolitikken, BoD – Books on Demand ?ISBN, page 9

     I artiklen skrev kulturredaktør Flemming Rose bl.a., at muslimer måtte acceptere, at deres religiøse følelser blev udsat for hån, spot og latterliggørelse^[sic]:...

     In the article, editor of culture Flemming Rose wrote, among other things, that muslims had to accept their religious feelings being made the object of mockery, derision and ridicule:...

   • 2014, Fjodor M. Dostojevskij, Minder fra dødens hus, Bechs Forlag - Viatone ?ISBN

     Først sporede man hos alle en heftig forbitrelse, derefter en dyb nedslåethed, og endelig syntes al sindsbevægelse at vige pladsen for hoverende spot.

     At first, one saw with everyone a hefty bitterness, then a deep sadness, and finally, all emotion seemed to recede, making way for gloating mockery.

Inflection

Etymology 2

From English spot.

Noun

spot c or n (singular definite spotten or spottet, plural indefinite spot or spots)

1. spotlight
   • 1982, Lene H. Bagger, Idioterne, p. 179

     I millisekundet hvor lyset satte spots på hendes uforberedte ansigt, røbede det hende

     In the short moment when the light turned the spotlight on her unprepared face, it revealed her

2. spot (short advertisement in radio or TV)
   • 2012, Jyllands-Posten

     Lego meddeler, at deres juleomsætning overgik alle forventninger på grund af spottene i TV 2

     LEGO informs that their Christmas sale surpassed all expectations due to the spots on TV 2

Inflection

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

spot

1. imperative of spotte

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sp?t/
• Rhymes: -?t

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch spot, from Old Dutch *spot, from Proto-Germanic *spuþþaz.

Noun

spot m (uncountable)

1. mockery

   Synonyms: spotternij, plagerij, pesterij

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English spot.

Noun

spot m (plural spots, diminutive spotje n)

1. spot; a spotlight.
2. spot; a brief segment on television.

Anagrams

• post, stop

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English spot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sp?t/

Noun

spot m (plural spots)

1. (physics) light spot
2. blip (on radar)
3. (cinematography, theater) spotlight, spot
4. (surfing) area
5. (television) spot; a brief segment on television.

Further reading

• “spot” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• pots, stop

Indonesian

Etymology

From English spot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?sp?t]
• Hyphenation: spot

Noun

spot

1. (colloquial) spot, a location or area.

Further reading

• “spot” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology

From English spot.

Noun

spot m (invariable)

1. spot (theatrical light; luminous point; brief radio or TV advertisment)

Anagrams

• post, stop

Further reading

• spot in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *spot, from Proto-Germanic *sputtaz.

Noun

spot m or n

1. joke, jest
2. mockery, derision

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• spotten

Descendants

• Dutch: spot

Further reading

• “spot”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “spot”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English spot (“brief advertisement”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sp?t/

Noun

spot m inan

1. (neologism) spot, a short broadcast in television

Usage notes

Used for all short informational and promotional broadcasts, such as public service announcements, social campaigns, election ads and advertisements. The native counterpart reklama is restricted to advertisements.

Declension

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

spot m (genitive singular spoit, plural spotan)

1. spot, stain
2. spot, place

Synonyms

• (place): bad

Derived terms

• spot dall

Spanish

Noun

spot m (plural spots)

1. advert, ad

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English sport.

Noun

spot

1. sport

Volapük

Noun

spot (nominative plural spots)

1. sport

Declension

English

Etymology

From Middle English cacchen, from Anglo-Norman cachier, from Late Latin capti?re, present active infinitive of capti?, from Latin capt?, frequentative of capi?. Akin to Modern French chasser (from Old French chacier) and Spanish cazar, and thus a doublet of chase. Displaced Middle English fangen ("to catch"; > Modern English fang (verb)), from Old English f?n (“to seize, take”); Middle English lacchen ("to catch"; > Modern English latch), from Old English læ??an.

The verb became irregular, possibly under the influence of the semantically similar latch (from Old English læ??an) whose past tense was lahte, lauhte, laught (Old English læhte) until becoming regularised in Modern English.

Pronunciation

• enPR: k?ch, IPA^(key): /kæt??/
• (US) enPR: k?ch, k?ch, IPA^(key): /kæt??/, /k?t??/
  • Noah Webster's American Dictionary (1828) regards /k?t?/ as the "popular or common pronunciation." It is labeled "not infreq[uent]" in Kenyon & Knott (1949).
• Rhymes: -æt?, -?t?

Noun

catch (countable and uncountable, plural catches)

1. (countable) The act of seizing or capturing.

   The catch of the perpetrator was the product of a year of police work.

2. (countable) The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball.

   The player made an impressive catch.

   Nice catch!

3. (countable) The act of noticing, understanding or hearing.

   Good catch. I never would have remembered that.

4. (uncountable) The game of catching a ball.

   The kids love to play catch.

5. (countable) Something which is captured or caught.

   The fishermen took pictures of their catch.

   The catch amounted to five tons of swordfish.

6. (countable, colloquial, by extension) A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.

   Did you see his latest catch?

   He's a good catch.

7. (countable) A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening.

   She installed a sturdy catch to keep her cabinets closed tight.

8. (countable) A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion.

   There was a catch in his voice when he spoke his father's name.

9. (countable, sometimes noun adjunct) A concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation.

   It sounds like a great idea, but what's the catch?

   Be careful, that's a catch question.

10. (countable) A crick; a sudden muscle pain during unaccustomed positioning when the muscle is in use.

    I bent over to see under the table and got a catch in my side.

11. (countable) A fragment of music or poetry.
12. (obsolete) A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.
    • The common and the canon law […] lie at catch, and wait advantages one against another.

13. (countable, agriculture) A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.
14. (obsolete) A type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.
    • 1612, John Smith, Map of Virginia, in Kupperman 1988, page 158:

      Fourteene miles Northward from the river Powhatan, is the river Pamaunke, which is navigable 60 or 70 myles, but with Catches and small Barkes 30 or 40 myles farther.

15. (countable, music) A type of humorous round in which the voices gradually catch up with one another; usually sung by men and often having bawdy lyrics.
    • 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 3 scene 2

      Let us be jocund: will you troll the catch / You taught me but while-ere?
16. (countable, music) The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse.
18. (countable, cricket, baseball) The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.
19. (countable, cricket) A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.
20. (countable, rowing) The first contact of an oar with the water.
21. (countable, phonetics) A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.
22. Passing opportunities seized; snatches.
    • , Introduction

      the way it has been writ in, by catches, and many long intervals of interruption

23. A slight remembrance; a trace.
    • 1665, Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica

      We retain a catch of those pretty stories.

Synonyms

• (act of capturing): seizure, capture, collar, snatch
• (the act of catching a ball): grasp, snatch
• (act of noticing): observation
• (a find): prize, find; conquest, beau
• (quantity captured): haul, take
• (stopping mechanism): stop, chock; clasp, hasp, latch
• (hidden difficulty): snag, problem; trick, gimmick, hitch
• (fragment of music): snatch, fragment; snippet, bit
• (refrain): chorus, refrain, burden

Derived terms

See combined section below.

Translations

Verb

catch (third-person singular simple present catches, present participle catching, simple past and past participle caught)

1. (heading) To capture, overtake.
   1. (transitive) To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape). [from 13^thc.]

   2. (transitive) To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive. [from 14^thc.]
      • 1611, Authorized King James Version, Mark 12:13:

        And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.

   3. (transitive, figuratively, dated) To marry or enter into a similar relationship with.
      • 1933, Sinclair Lewis, Ann Vickers, p.108:

        The public […] said that Miss Bogardus was a suffragist because she had never caught a man; that she wanted something, but it wasn't the vote.

      • 2006, Michael Collier and Georgia Machemer, Medea, p.23:

        As for Aspasia, concubinage with Pericles brought her as much honor as she could hope to claim in Athens. […] from the moment she caught her man, this influential, unconventional woman became a lightning rod […].

   4. (transitive) To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc. [from 16^thc.]
   5. (transitive) To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for. [from 17^thc.]
      • 2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1):

        Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Did anyone catch the Charlie Rose the evening before last. Did you catch it? No, nothing?

   6. (transitive) To unpleasantly discover unexpectedly; to unpleasantly surprise (someone doing something). [from 17^thc.]

   8. (transitive) To travel by means of. [from 19^thc.]
      • 1987, A.J. Quinnell, In the Name of the Father, p.111:

        After about a kilometer I caught a taxi to Santa Croce.

   9. (transitive, rare) To become pregnant. (Only in past tense or as participle.) [from 19^thc.]
      • 2002, Orpha Caton, Shadow on the Creek, pp.102-103:

        Had Nancy got caught with a child? If so she would destroy her parent's dreams for her.

2. (heading) To seize hold of.
   1. (transitive, dated) To grab, seize, take hold of. [from 13^thc.]
   2. (transitive) To take or replenish something necessary, such as breath or sleep. [from 14^thc.]

   3. (transitive) To grip or entangle. [from 17^thc.]

   4. (intransitive) To be held back or impeded.
   5. (intransitive) To engage with some mechanism; to stick, to succeed in interacting with something or initiating some process.

   6. (transitive) To have something be held back or impeded.

   7. (intransitive) To make a grasping or snatching motion (at). [from 17^thc.]

   8. (transitive) Of fire, to spread or be conveyed to. [from 18^thc.]

   9. (transitive, rowing) To grip (the water) with one's oars at the beginning of the stroke. [from 19^thc.]
      • 1906, Arthur W. Stevens, Practical Rowing with Scull and Sweep, p.63:

        Stop gathering, in that gradual fashion, and catch the water sharply and decisively.

   10. (intransitive, agriculture) To germinate and set down roots. [from 19^thc.]

   11. (transitive, surfing) To contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore.
       • 2001, John Lull, Sea Kayaking Safety & Rescue, p.203:

         If you are surfing a wave through the rocks, make sure you have a clear route before catching the wave.

   12. (transitive, computing) To handle an exception. [from 20^thc.]

3. (heading) To intercept.
   1. (transitive) To seize or intercept an object moving through the air (or, sometimes, some other medium). [from 16^thc.]

   2. (transitive, now rare) To seize (an opportunity) when it occurs. [from 16^thc.]
      • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 18:

        she internally resolved henceforward to catch every opportunity of eyeing the hair and of satisfying herself, […].

   3. (transitive, cricket) To end a player's innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce. [from 18^thc.]

   4. (transitive, intransitive, baseball) To play (a specific period of time) as the catcher. [from 19^thc.]

4. (heading) To receive (by being in the way).
   1. (transitive) To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.). [from 13^thc.]

   2. (transitive) To be touched or affected by (something) through exposure. [from 13^thc.]

   3. (transitive) To be infected by (an illness). [from 16^thc.]

   4. (intransitive) To spread by infection or similar means.

      • Does the sedition catch from man to man?

      • 1817, Mary Martha Sherwood, Stories Explanatory of the Church Catechism

        He accosted Mrs. Browne very civilly, told her his wife was very ill, and said he was sadly troubled to get a white woman to nurse her: "For," said he, "Mrs. Simpson has set it abroad that her fever is catching."

   5. (transitive, intransitive) To receive or be affected by (wind, water, fire etc.). [from 18^thc.]
      • 2003, Jerry Dennis, The Living Great Lakes, p.63:

        the sails caught and filled, and the boat jumped to life beneath us.

   6. (transitive) To acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or infection. [from 16^thc.]

   7. (transitive) To be hit by something.

   8. (intransitive) To serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish.
   9. (intransitive) To get pregnant.

5. (heading) To take in with one's senses or intellect.
   1. (transitive) To grasp mentally: perceive and understand. [from 16^thc.]

      • “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; […]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.

   2. (transitive, informal) To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment). [from 20^thc.]

   3. (transitive) To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully. [from 17^thc.]

6. (heading) To seize attention, interest.
   1. (transitive) To charm or entrance. [from 14^thc.]
      • 2004, Catherine Asaro, The Moon's Shadow, p.40

        No, a far more natural beauty caught him.

   2. (transitive) To attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense). [from 17^thc.]

7. (heading) To obtain or experience

Conjugation

Usage notes

• The older past and passive participle catched is now nonstandard.

Synonyms

• (seize in motion): fang, snatch, grab
• (capture prey): capture, take; snare, hook
• (be hit): take, get

Antonyms

• drop, release

Translations

Derived terms

References

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English catch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kat?/

Noun

catch m (uncountable)

1. wrestling; professional wrestling

Derived terms

• catcheur

Further reading

• “catch” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).