WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026cap•ture /ˈkæptʃɚ/USA pronunciation
v., -tured, -tur•ing, n. v. [
~ + obj]
- to take by force;
take prisoner:The patrol captured a few dozen soldiers.
- to gain control of;
hold: She captured my attention immediately.
- to take possession of, as in a contest: to capture a pawn in chess.
- to represent or record (a feeling, etc.): a movie that captures life in Berlin in the 1930's.
n.
- the act of capturing;
seizure:[uncountable]On the day of the capture we were out on a patrol.
- [countable] the person or thing captured.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026cap•ture
(kap′chər),USA pronunciation v., -tured, -tur•ing, n. v.t.
- to take by force or stratagem;
take prisoner;
seize:The police captured the burglar.
- to gain control of or exert influence over:an ad that captured our attention; a TV show that captured 30% of the prime-time audience.
- to take possession of, as in a game or contest:to capture a pawn in chess.
- to represent or record in lasting form:The movie succeeded in capturing the atmosphere of Berlin in the 1930s.
- Computing
- to enter (data) into a computer for processing or storage.
- to record (data) in preparation for such entry.
n.
- the act of capturing.
- the thing or person captured.
- Physicsthe process in which an atomic or nuclear system acquires an additional particle.
- Crystallographysubstitution in a crystal lattice of a trace element for an element of lower valence.
- Latin captūra, equivalent. to capt(us) taken (past participle of capere to take) + -ūra -ure
- Middle French
- 1535–45
cap′tur•a•ble, adj.
cap′tur•er, n.
1. catch, arrest, snare, apprehend, grab, nab. 6. seizure, arrest, apprehension.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
capture /ˈkæptʃə/ vb (transitive)- to take prisoner or gain control over: to capture an enemy, to capture a town
- (in a game or contest) to win control or possession of: to capture a pawn in chess
- to succeed in representing or describing (something elusive): the artist captured her likeness
- (of an atom, molecule, ion, or nucleus) to acquire (an additional particle)
- to insert or transfer (data) into a computer
n - the act of taking by force; seizure
- the person or thing captured; booty
- a process by which an atom, molecule, ion, or nucleus acquires an additional particle
- Also called: piracy the process by which the headwaters of one river are diverted into another through erosion caused by the second river's tributaries
- the act or process of inserting or transferring data into a computer
Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin captūra a catching, that which is caught, from capere to takeˈcapturer n
'captured' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):