Catch vs. Grab — What's the Difference?

Intercept and hold (something which has been thrown, propelled, or dropped)

To take or grasp suddenly

Capture (a person or animal that tries or would try to escape)

To capture or restrain; arrest.

(of an object) accidentally become entangled or trapped in something

To obtain or appropriate unscrupulously or forcibly

Reach in time and board (a train, bus, or aircraft)

To take hurriedly

Engage (a person's interest or imagination)

(Slang) To capture the attention of

Strike (someone) on a part of the body

To make a grasping or snatching motion

Contract (an illness) through infection or contagion

A sudden attempt to grasp or hold something

Become ignited and start burning

A sudden, often unscrupulous taking control or ownership of something

An act of catching something, typically a ball.

A mechanical device for gripping an object.

A game in which a ball is thrown back and forth between two or more players.

A usually two-masted, sharp-prowed coastal vessel of the Indian Ocean.

A device for securing something such as a door, window, or box

Relating or being an object or device that is grabbed or gripped for support or balance

A hidden problem or disadvantage in an apparently ideal situation

(transitive) To grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch.

An unevenness in a person's voice caused by emotion

(intransitive) To make a sudden grasping or clutching motion (at something).

A round, typically one with words arranged to produce a humorous effect.

To restrain someone; to arrest.

To get and hold (something that has been in motion) in a hand, the hands, a container, or an implement

(transitive) To grip the attention of; to enthrall or interest.

To take hold of, especially forcibly or suddenly; grasp

(informal) To quickly collect or retrieve.

To stop (oneself) from doing an action

(informal) To consume something quickly.

To capture or seize, especially after a chase

To take the opportunity of.

To capture or take by trapping, snaring, or some other means

(countable) A sudden snatch at something.

To take in and hold or contain

(countable) An acquisition by violent or unjust means.

To discover or come upon suddenly, unexpectedly, or accidentally

(countable) A mechanical device that grabs or clutches.

To become cognizant or aware of suddenly

A device for withdrawing drills, etc., from artesian and other wells that are drilled, bored, or driven.

To reach just in time; get so as to be carried by

A sound bite.

To overtake

(obsolete) That which is seized.

To cause to become hooked, entangled, or fastened

(uncountable) A simple card game.

To hold up; delay

A two- or three-masted vessel used on the Malabar coast.

To make contact with; strike

A vessel used on the Malabar coast, having two or three masts.

To propel an object so that it hits (something)

A sudden grasp or seizure.

To become subject to or to contract, as by exposure to a pathogen

An instrument for clutching objects for the purpose of raising them; - specially applied to devices for withdrawing drills, etc., from artesian and other wells that are drilled, bored, or driven.

To become affected by or infused with

To gripe suddenly; to seize; to snatch; to clutch.

To suffer from the receipt of (criticism, for example)

A mechanical device for gripping an object

To perceive suddenly or momentarily

The act of catching an object with the hands;

To hear or listen to

Take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of;

To grasp mentally; apprehend

Get hold of or seize quickly and easily;

To go to see (a performance, for example)

Make a grasping or snatching motion with the hand;

To get (something required), usually quickly or for a brief period

Obtain illegally or unscrupulously;

To attract and fix; arrest

Take or grasp suddenly;

To reproduce or represent effectively

Capture the attention or imagination of;

To deceive

(Baseball) To play (a game) as catcher.

To become held, entangled, or fastened

To act or move so as to hold or grab someone or something

To be communicable or infectious; spread.

To become ignited

(Baseball) To act as catcher.

The act of catching, especially the grabbing and holding of a thrown, kicked, or batted ball before it hits the ground.

A game of throwing and catching a ball.

A quantity that is caught

Something that is perceived or noticed

(Informal) A person considered to be an attractive or admirable romantic partner.

A tricky or previously unsuspected condition or drawback

A device for fastening something or for checking motion

A choking or stoppage of the breath or voice

A snatch; a fragment

(Music) A canonic, often rhythmically intricate composition for three or more voices, popular especially in the 17th and 18th centuries.

(countable) The act of seizing or capturing.

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

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

(uncountable) The game of catching a ball.

(countable) Something which is captured or caught.

A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse.

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

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

A concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation.

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

(countable) A fragment of music or poetry.

(obsolete) A state of readiness to capture or seize; an ambush.

A crop which has germinated and begun to grow.

(obsolete) A type of strong boat, usually having two masts; a ketch.

A type of humorous round in which the voices gradually catch up with one another; usually sung by men and often having bawdy lyrics.

The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse.

The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out.

A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well.

The first contact of an oar with the water.

A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough.

Passing opportunities seized; snatches.

A slight remembrance; a trace.

(heading) To capture, overtake.

(transitive) To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape).

(transitive) To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive.

To marry or enter into a similar relationship with.

(transitive) To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc.

(transitive) To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for.

(transitive) To unpleasantly discover unexpectedly; to unpleasantly surprise (someone doing something).

(transitive) To travel by means of.

To become pregnant. (Only in past tense or as participle.)

(heading) To seize hold of.

To grab, seize, take hold of.

(transitive) To take or replenish something necessary, such as breath or sleep.

(transitive) To grip or entangle.

(intransitive) To be held back or impeded.

(intransitive) To engage with some mechanism; to stick, to succeed in interacting with something or initiating some process.

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

(intransitive) To make a grasping or snatching motion (at).

(transitive) Of fire, to spread or be conveyed to.

To grip (the water) with one's oars at the beginning of the stroke.

To germinate and set down roots.

To contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore.

To handle an exception.

(heading) To intercept.

(transitive) To seize or intercept an object moving through the air (or, sometimes, some other medium).

To seize (an opportunity) when it occurs.

To end a player's innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce.

To play (a specific period of time) as the catcher.

(heading) To receive (by being in the way).

(transitive) To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.).

(transitive) To be touched or affected by (something) through exposure.

(transitive) To become infected by (an illness).

(intransitive) To spread by infection or similar means.

To receive or be affected by (wind, water, fire etc.).

(transitive) To acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or infection.

(transitive) To be hit by something.

(intransitive) To serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish.

To get pregnant.

(heading) To take in with one's senses or intellect.

(transitive) To grasp mentally: perceive and understand.

To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment).

(transitive) To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully.

(heading) To seize attention, interest.

(transitive) To charm or entrance.

(transitive) To attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense).

To lay hold on; to seize, especially with the hand; to grasp (anything) in motion, with the effect of holding; as, to catch a ball.

To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief.

To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish.

Hence: To insnare; to entangle.

To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody.

To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building.

To engage and attach; to please; to charm.

To get possession of; to attain.

To take or receive; esp. to take by sympathy, contagion, infection, or exposure; as, to catch the spirit of an occasion; to catch the measles or smallpox; to catch cold; the house caught fire.

To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.

To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train.

To attain possession.

To be held or impeded by entanglement or a light obstruction; as, a kite catches in a tree; a door catches so as not to open.

To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch.

To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate.

Act of seizing; a grasp.

That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened; as, the catch of a gate.

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.

That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the whole quantity caught or taken at one time; as, a good catch of fish.

Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony.

Passing opportunities seized; snatches.

A slight remembrance; a trace.

A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.

A hidden drawback;

The quantity that was caught;

A person regarded as a good matrimonial prospect

Anything that is caught (especially if it is worth catching);

A break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong emotion)

A restraint that checks the motion of something;

A fastener that fastens or locks a door or window

A cooperative game in which a ball is passed back and forth;

The act of catching an object with the hands;

The act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal);

Discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state;

Perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily;

Reach with a blow or hit in a particular spot;

Take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of;

Succeed in catching or seizing, especially after a chase;

To hook or entangle;

Attract and fix;

Capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping;

Reach in time;

Get or regain something necessary, usually quickly or briefly;

Catch up with and possibly overtake;

Be struck or affected by;

Check oneself during an action;

Hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers;

See or watch;

Cause to become accidentally or suddenly caught, ensnared, or entangled;

Detect a blunder or misstep;

Grasp with the mind or develop an undersatnding of;

Contract;

Start burning;

Perceive by hearing;

Suffer from the receipt of;

Attract; cause to be enamored;

Apprehend and reproduce accurately;

Take in and retain;

Spread or be communicated;

Be the catcher;

Become aware of;

Delay or hold up; prevent from proceeding on schedule or as planned;