caught

caught — verb

1. the form of the verb 'catch' used for past events or completed actions — for exa

1.verbA1
Definition

the form of the verb 'catch' used for past events or completed actions — for example, when someone grabbed a moving object, discovered a secret, became ill with a contagious disease, or boarded a vehicle just in time.

Example

Sade caught the ball with one hand before it hit the ground.

Nora caught a bad cold after standing in the rain for nearly an hour.

caught + illness (caught a cold)

Common collocations
  • caught a cold
  • caught a ball
  • caught someone + verb-ing
  • caught on something
  • caught in the rain
  • caught fire
  • caught sight of
  • caught a train/bus/plane

Grammar Patterns

caught + object

caught + object + verb-ing

be caught + prepositional phrase

Usage Note

This is the only form used for both the simple past tense and all perfect tenses of 'catch' (e.g., 'has caught', 'had caught'). It is also the base for many fixed phrases and idioms, including 'caught up in', 'caught red-handed', and 'caught off guard'.

Common Mistakes

Yesterday, I catched a fish.
Yesterday, I caught a fish.
The verb 'catch' is irregular; its past form is 'caught', never 'catched'.
She has catched the flu twice this year.
She has caught the flu twice this year.
The past participle is 'caught', not 'catched'.

caught — adjective

caught — idiom

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

While 'caught' is an informal, somewhat dated slang term for being pregnant, 'pregnant' is the neutral, standard term used in all settings from medical reports to casual conversation. 'Expecting' is a polite euphemism that softens the directness of 'pregnant' and is common in friendly or family contexts ('She's expecting her second child'). 'With child' is a very old-fashioned, literary phrase rarely heard in modern speech. Use 'pregnant' for clarity and appropriateness in most situations; reserve 'caught' for storytelling or when intentionally adopting a colloquial tone — for example, 'In those days, if a young woman got caught, she was often sent to live with relatives.'

pregnant ↗expectingwith child

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinLate LatinOld North FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Caught' is the irregular past tense and past participle of 'catch'. The verb 'catch' entered English from Old North French 'cachier' (to chase, capture), which itself came from Late Latin 'captiare', an intensified form of Latin 'capere' (to take, seize). The irregular 'caught' form (instead of a regular '-ed' ending) developed in Middle English around the 13th–14th centuries, following a pattern of Germanic strong-verb influence on borrowed French verbs.