capture

1 of 2

noun

cap·ture ˈkap-chər

-shər

: an act or instance of capturing: such as

: an act of catching, winning, or gaining control by force, stratagem, or guile

the capture of the city by enemy forces

: a move in a board game (such as chess or checkers) that gains an opponent's piece

: the absorption by an atom, nucleus, or particle of a subatomic particle that often results in subsequent emission of radiation or in fission

: the act of recording in a permanent file

data capture

motion capture

: one that has been taken (such as a prize ship)

capture

2 of 2

verb

captured; capturing ˈkap-chə-riŋ

ˈkap-shriŋ

transitive verb

: to take captive

also : to gain control of especially by force

capture a city

: to gain or win especially through effort

captured 60 percent of the vote

: to emphasize, represent, or preserve (something, such as a scene, mood, or quality) in a more or less permanent form

… at any such moment as a photograph might capture …

C. E. Montague

: to record in a permanent file (as in a computer)

The system is used to capture data relating to the buying habits of young people.

: to captivate and hold the interest of

The performer captured our attention.

: to take according to the rules of a game

A knight captured his pawn.

: to bring about the capture of (a subatomic particle)

astronomy : to draw into the gravitational influence of a larger body

Asteroids were thought to be too small to capture a moon, but the moon might be a fragment that broke off.

Kenneth Chang

capturable

ˈkap-chə-rə-bəl

-shrə-bəl

adjective

Choose the Right Synonym for capture

catch, capture, trap, snare, entrap, ensnare, bag mean to come to possess or control by or as if by seizing.

catch implies the seizing of something in motion or in flight or in hiding.

caught the dog as it ran by

capture suggests taking by overcoming resistance or difficulty.

capture an enemy stronghold

trap, snare, entrap, ensnare imply seizing by some device that holds the one caught at the mercy of the captor.

trap and snare apply more commonly to physical seizing.

trap animals

snared butterflies with a net

entrap and ensnare more often are figurative.

entrapped the witness with a trick question

a sting operation that ensnared burglars

bag implies shooting down a fleeing or distant prey.

bagged a brace of pheasants

Example Sentences

Noun the capture of the city by enemy forces a Spanish treasure ship was the most valuable capture ever taken by that privateer Verb They were captured by enemy soldiers. using traps to capture mice The city was captured by the Romans. She captured 60 percent of the vote in the last election. The company plans on capturing a larger segment of the market. The show has captured the attention of teenagers. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Some environmental groups are skeptical that carbon capture is a reliable and safe technology and worry it will be used to let oil companies keep emitting fossil fuels.

Kathleen Ronayne, ajc, 1 Sep. 2022 Some environmental groups are skeptical that carbon capture is a reliable and safe technology and worry it will be used to let oil companies keep emitting fossil fuels.

Kathleen Ronayne, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2022 Images of the galaxy have appeared in the past, but the latest capture by James Webb is the most detailed look at this beautiful galaxy we have ever been given.

Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 30 Aug. 2022 Carbon capture might be the buzzword of the moment in the fight to mitigate the climate crisis, but seaweed has been doing it naturally all this time.

Casey Barber, CNN, 21 July 2022 Its long record and present-tense scenery capture are particularly useful to those who want to study one of Plato’s basic natural elements, one that is both caused by, and affects, humanity: fire.

Wired, 6 July 2022 Perhaps, carbon capture is now a necessary part of the policy package if net-zero by 2050 needs to be achieved.

Nives Dolsak And Aseem Prakash, Forbes, 4 July 2022 Russia's capture of Lysychansk, if confirmed, would be a major victory that gives its troops clear access to Donetsk, the other region that makes up Donbas.

BostonGlobe.com, 3 July 2022 Military analysts said Mariupol's capture at this point is of mostly symbolic importance, since the city was already effectively under Moscow's control and most of the Russian forces that were tied down by the fighting there had already left.

Arkansas Online, 21 May 2022

Verb

Republicans’ failure to capture the U.S. Senate means that the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions -- known as the HELP committee -- will be chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.).

Joel Zinberg, National Review, 30 Nov. 2022 The final months of the year generally are when advertisers increase spending in an attempt to capture the holiday shopping rush as well as planning for prime-time events such as the Super Bowl, experts say.

Jeremy B. Merrill, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2022 Russian artillery pounded Ukrainian defenders’ positions in the east as Moscow stepped up efforts to capture more territory there, while Kyiv sought to win international support for its peace terms.

WSJ, 22 Nov. 2022 In Bentonville, Arkansas, a slate of five candidates doubly endorsed by the 1776 Project PAC and Moms for Liberty missed in their attempt to capture a majority on the seven-member board, according to complete, unofficial returns.

Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 10 Nov. 2022 The increasing panic of Russian ground troops, overextended in a doomed attempt to capture Kyiv, compelled Russian pilots to switch from attacking Ukrainian air defenses to supporting the ground forces.

David Axe, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2022 The structure, which is angled in relation to the prevailing winds, has an elliptical shape, chosen for its ability to capture and circulate cool air, but also for its symbolic connotations of femininity, matching the ethos of the project.

Chelsea Lee, CNN, 7 Nov. 2022 Many piquettes are made in the ancestral method — like pet-nat — in which they’re bottled while still fermenting, in order to capture fizzy carbon dioxide, a byproduct of fermentation, within the bottle.

Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Nov. 2022 There is some concern about Russia's ability to capture U.S. weapon systems, however.

Phil Mccausland, NBC News, 31 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'capture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.