These verbs all mean to seize and to take captive. Capture is the strongest word. It implies the use of force or stratagem in overcoming active resistance: to capture an enemy fort; to capture an armed robber. Catch is the most general word. It suggests the seizure or detection of something fugitive or elusive ?often implying active pursuit, clever entrapment or a taking by surprise: to catch a runaway horse; to catch a thief.

Arrest is applied only to persons in this sense and always carries the implication of a legal offence. It means to take into custody by legal authority and often involves detention in goal. Police caught him fleeing the scene of the crime and arrested him as a suspect. Apprehend is a more formal word for arrest , involving the seizure of someone in the name of the law: He was apprehended five hours after his escape. Apprehend is the sort of word used in official documents and reports; it seems stilted or pretentious in everyday contexts. Nab and pinch are informal synonyms for catch or arrest . Pinch is more general, while nab stresses the suddenness of the seizure, often implying a rough grabbing: Police nabbed him as he ran out of the raided nightclub.

In extended senses, catch and capture may mean to seize something fleeting, to grasp something hard to get hold of. Capture implies the greater difficulty and achievement : to catch a likeness in a sketch; an artist who captures a fleeting expression. Both words man also mean to captivate or enthral.

• The song caught her fancy; The book captured his imagination.

Four of these verbs are used of the seizure of animals in hunting. Capture is applied to wild animals brought back alive, as for exhibition in a zoo or training by an animal tamer: to capture lions and tigers. Catch is applied to small or harmless animals that are enticed by a bait or fooled by camouflage: to catch fish; to catch a mouse in a trap; to catch a bird in a snare. Trap focuses on the use of a trap, snare or pitfall to catch unsuspecting animals; to trap fur-bearing animals for their pelts. Persons may be trapped like animals by being caught in a cul-de-sac, cut off from all escape routes: trapped in a burning building; trapped in a dull job and a bad marriage. Bag is expressive of the hunter’s satisfaction at having his quarry literally in the bag: to bag a wild pig. In a figurative sense, bag stresses the triumph of the successful hunt, the bringing home of some sought-after prize: She bagged a minor poet for her salon.