hold/catch

Từ điển Oxford Learners Wordfinder Dictionary

1 holding
2 taking hold
3 letting go
holding sb in a friendly or loving way LOVE

1 holding
- to keep sth in your hand, or to keep sth in a certain position: hold* sth; the act of holding sth: hold
He was holding a gun in his hand. ◎ Hold the camera very still. ◎ Her hair was held in place by a hair slide.
- to continue to hold sth: hold* on (to sth)
I can't hold on much longer! ◎ Hold on to the rope very tightly - don't let go.
- to hold sth and move with it: carry sth
Shall I carry your bags for you?
※ more on carrying sth BRING/TAKE/CARRY
- to hold sb on the ground: hold* sb down
They held him down until the police arrived.
- to hold sth above your head: hold* sth up
Can you hold the picture up so that everyone can see it?
- to hold sth so that it does not fall down: hold* sth up
He used a piece of string to hold his trousers up.
- to hold sb/sth in order to stop them/it from falling or breaking: support sb/sth
The bridge is supported by two main towers.
- to hold sth very tightly with your hand: clasp sth
She clasped the child's hand.
- to hold sth tightly, especially because you are afraid or excited: clutch sth
She ran towards me, clutching her new doll.
- to hold sth very firmly: grip sth, cling* on (to) sth, hang* on to sth; a firm hold: grip
He gripped my arm. ◎ He held her in a tight grip, so that she could not run away.
- to hold on to a person or thing so that you do not fall: cling* (on) to sb/sth, hang* on to sb/sth
The terrified child clung on to his mother's arm. ◎ The rescue workers found the man still clinging to the rock face.
- to hold sth in your hand and press it hard: squeeze sth; noun: squeeze
to squeeze water out of a cloth ◎ She gave my hand a squeeze.
- to hold things together very tightly, especially using a special tool: clamp sth; a tool for doing this: clamp

2 taking hold
- to put your hand round sth and hold it (and move it towards you): take* sth
He took the money and put it in his pocket. ◎ Can you take this bag for a moment?
- to stretch out your arm to try and get sth: reach (out) for sth
He reached for another chocolate, but the box was empty!
- to take sth (from sb) in an aggressive way: grab (sth), snatch (sth)
Don't grab! Just wait your turn. ◎ The little girl snatched the toy from her brother.
- to take sb/sth in your hands: take* hold of sb/sth
- to take hold of sth that is moving, usually with your hands: catch* sth; an act of catching sth, usually a ball: catch
She threw the ball and I caught it. ◎ to make a catch
- to fail to catch sth: miss sth; noun: miss
He tried to catch the ball, but missed. ◎ After three misses, I finally managed to catch the ball.
※—† catching a person
- to get hold of sb/sth that you have been looking for: catch* sb/sth
The police have caught the man they were looking for.
- to catch sb and keep him/her so that they cannot escape: capture sb; noun (U): capture
The escaped prisoners were soon captured.
- a person who has been captured: prisoner
- a place where prisoners are kept: prison
※ more on prisoners and prison PRISON
※—† catching an animal
- to get hold of an animal, fish, bird, etc: catch* sth
to catch a bird in a net ◎ I caught a rabbit.
- to look for and follow wild animals in order to catch or kill them either for food or for sport: hunt (sth); noun (u): hunting; a person who hunts animals: hunter
※ more on hunting HUNT
- catching fish FISH ¹
※—† trying to catch sb/sth
- to try to move faster than a person or thing that is in front of you in order to catch them/it: chase (after) sb/sth, go*/come*/run* after sb/sth, (formal) pursue sb/sth
That dog was chasing our cat. ◎ She threw a piece of wood into the sea and the dog went after it. ◎ Quick! They're coming after us! ◎ I ran after her, but she disappeared into the crowd.
- to be chasing sb/sth: be after sb/sth
They're after you! Run!
- the act of chasing sb/sth: chase
a car chase ◎ a police chase
- a person who chases sb/sth: pursuer
- to get nearer to a person or thing that you are chasing: gain on sb/sth
Drive faster, they're gaining on us.
- to reach a person or thing that is in front of you: catch* up (with sb/sth), catch* sb/sth up
I eventually managed to catch up with the rest of the group.

3 letting go
- to stop holding sb/sth: let* sb/sth go, let* go (of sb/sth), (formal) release sb/sth
You can let go of the rope now. ◎ Hundreds of balloons were released and floated up to the ceiling. ◎ Don't let go, whatever you do!
- to allow sth to fall: drop sth
Drop everything and run!
- to hold sth less tightly: relax your hold
- to leave a place or a situation that you do not want to be in: escape (from sth), get* away (from sth)
How did the prisoners escape?
※ more on escaping ESCAPE