Capture

Pronunciation

Origin

From Middle French capture (noun).

Full definition of capture

Noun

1. An act of capturing; a seizing by force or stratagem.
• Blackstoneeven with regard to captures made at sea
2. The securing of an object of strife or desire, as by the power of some attraction.the capture of a lover's heart
3. Something that has been captured; a captive.
4. (computing) A particular match found for a pattern in a text string.

Verb

1. To take control of; to seize by force or stratagem.to capture an enemy, a vessel, or a criminal
2. To store (as in sounds or image) for later revisitation.She captured the sounds of a subway station on tape.She captured the details of the fresco in a series of photographs.
3. To reproduce convincingly.His film adaptation captured the spirit of the original work.In her latest masterpiece, she captured the essence of Venice.
4. To remove or take control of an opponent’s piece in a game (e.g., chess, go, checkers).My pawn was captured.He captured his opponent’s queen on the 15th move.
• 1954, Fred Reinfeld, How to Be a Winner at Chess, page 63, Hanover House (Garden City, NY)How deeply ingrained capturing is in the mind of a chess master can be seen from this story.

Derived terms

• screen capture
• capture the flag

Related terms

• captivate
• captive
• captivity
• caption

Anagrams

• cuprate