capture
[verb]
Synonyms:
- catch, apprehend, arrest, bag, collar (informal), secure, seize, take, take prisoner
[noun]
Synonyms:
- catching, apprehension, arrest, imprisonment, seizure, taking, taking captive, trapping

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English Thesaurus: catch, arrest, apprehend, capture, take somebody prisoner, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. cap‧ture¹ W3 /ˈkæptʃə $ -ər/ verb [transitive]

1. PERSON to catch a person and keep them as a prisoner:
Government troops have succeeded in capturing the rebel leader.
40 captured French soldiers

2. PLACE/THING to get control of a place or object that previously belonged to an enemy, during a war:
The town was captured after a siege lasting ten days.
The Dutch fleet captured two English ships.

3. ANIMAL to catch an animal after chasing or following it:
The tiger was finally captured two miles outside the village.

4. FILM/RECORD/ART to succeed in recording, showing, or describing a situation or feeling, using words or pictures:
These photographs capture the essence of working-class life at the turn of the century.
The robbery was captured on police video cameras.

5. capture sb’s imagination/attention etc to make someone feel very interested in something:
His stories of foreign adventure captured my imagination.

6. capture sb’s heart to make someone love you

7. BUSINESS/POLITICS to get something that previously belonged to one of your competitors:
We aim to capture eight percent of the UK wine market.
Republicans captured three Senate seats from the Democrats.

8. capture the headlines to be talked or written about a lot in the newspapers or on television:
Irvine Welsh first captured the headlines with his novel ‘Trainspotting’.

9. COMPUTER technical to put something in a form that a computer can use:
The data is captured by an optical scanner.

10. CHESS to remove one of your opponent’s pieces from the board in chess

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. capture² noun [uncountable]
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: French; Origin: Latin captura, from captus; ⇒ captive¹]

1. when you catch someone in order to make them a prisoner:
The two soldiers somehow managed to avoid capture.

2. when soldiers get control of a place that previously belonged to an enemy
capture of
the capture of Jerusalem in 1099

3. when you get control of something that previously belonged to one of your competitors

4. when you put information into a form a computer can use

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

capture
noun
VERB + CAPTURE avoid, escape, evade The refugees evaded capture by hiding in the forest.
lead to This information led to the capture of the murderer.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

capture
verb
ADV. perfectly That description captures perfectly the feeling of being invisible.
brilliantly, neatly
VERB + CAPTURE attempt to, try to | manage to | fail to The exhibition on India fails to capture the great diversity of this fascinating country.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

capture
verb
BAD: Her blue eyes and long blond hair captured him.
GOOD: Her blue eyes and long blond hair captivated him.

Usage Note:
capture = make someone a prisoner: 'That day they captured twenty enemy soldiers.' 'The leader of the resistance group was captured and executed.'
captivate = strongly attract and impress someone: 'From the day she met him, she was captivated by his charm.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

catch to stop someone who is trying to escape, especially by running after them and then holding them:
He raced after her, but he couldn’t catch her.
The police caught the bank robbers after a car chase through the city.
arrest if the police arrest someone, they take him or her to a police station because they think that person has done something illegal:
Wayne was arrested for dangerous driving.
The police arrested him and charged him with murder.
apprehend formal if the police apprehend someone they think has done something illegal, they catch him or her:
The two men were later apprehended after they robbed another store.
The killers were never apprehended.
All of the kidnappers were apprehended and convicted.
capture to catch an enemy or a criminal in order to keep them as a prisoner:
The French king was captured by the English at the battle of Poitiers in 1356.
The gunmen were finally captured after a shoot-out with the police.
take somebody prisoner to catch someone, especially in a war, in order to keep them as a prisoner:
350 soldiers were killed and another 300 taken prisoner.
Ellison was taken prisoner by the Germans during the retreat to Dunkirk.
trap to make someone go to a place from which they cannot escape, especially by using your skill and intelligence:
Police trapped the man inside a bar on the city’s southside.
corner to force someone into a place from which they cannot escape:
He was cornered outside the school by three gang members.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲