be caught short Definition

catch
verb caught (past tense, past participle), catching (present participle)

1. To stop (a moving object) and hold it.
2. To manage to get hold of or trap, especially after a hunt or chase.

Thesaurus: seize, take, apprehend, snatch, snag, grab, snare, entrap, nab, net; Antonym: miss, free, unleash.
3. To be in time to get, reach, see, etc something.

Example: catch the last post
4. To overtake or draw level with someone or something.
5. To discover someone or something in time to prevent or to encourage the development of something.

Example: The disease can be cured if caught early
6. To surprise someone doing something wrong or embarrassing.

Example: I caught them in a passionate clinch in the kitchen
7. To trick or trap.
8. To become infected with (a disease, etc).

Thesaurus: contract, incur, get, acquire, develop, come down with, succumb to; Antonym: ward off, get over.
tr & intr
9. To become or cause to become accidentally attached or held.

Example: My dress caught on a nail
10. To hit.

Example: I caught him square on the chin
11. To manage to hear, see or understand something.

Example: I didn't quite catch your third point
Thesaurus: see, perceive, grasp, understand, follow, apprehend.
12. To attract (attention, etc).

Example: catch her eye
intr
13. To start burning.

Example: The fire caught within seconds and spread to the library
14. To succeed in recording (a subtle quality, etc).

Example: The artist caught her expression perfectly
15. cricket.
To put (a batsman) out by gathering the ball he has struck before it touches the ground.

noun catches

1. An act of catching.
2. A small device for keeping a lid, door, etc closed.
3. Something caught.
4. The total amount of eg fish caught.
5. A hidden problem or disadvantage; a snag; some unsuspected trick in a question, etc.

Thesaurus: proviso, fine print, condition, caveat, stipulation; trap, gimmick, trick.
6. Someone or something that it would be advantageous to get hold of, eg a certain person as a husband or wife.
7. A slight breaking sound in one's voice, caused by emotion.
8. A children's game of throwing and catching a ball.
9. music.
A humorous round sung by two or three people.

Derivative: catchable
adj

Idiom: be caught short

See under short.

Idiom: be caught up in something (get caught up in something)

To be or get involved in it, especially unintentionally.

Idiom: catch fire

To start burning.

Idiom: catch hold of something

To grasp or grab it.

Idiom: catch it

colloq
To be scolded, punished, etc.

Idiom: catch sight of someone or something (catch a glimpse of someone or something)

To see them only for a brief moment.

Etymology: 13c: from French cachier, from Latin captiare to try to catch, from capere to seize.

Phrasal Verb: catch at something

To try to catch or hold it; to hold on to it briefly.

Phrasal Verb: catch on

To become popular.To understand it.

Phrasal Verb: catch someone out

To trick them into making a mistake.To discover them or take them unawares in embarrassing circumstances.

Phrasal Verb: catch up

To draw level with someone ahead.To bring oneself up to date with one's work, the latest news, etc.To immerse or occupy.
Example: She was completely caught up in her studies

Phrasal Verb: catch something up

To pick it up or grab it hastily.

---

short
adj

1. Having little physical length; not long.
2. Having little height.

Thesaurus: undersized, small, little, dwarfish, stubby, squat, stunted, diminutive, pint-sized; Antonym: large, ample.
3. Having little extent or duration; brief; concise.

Example: short day
Thesaurus: brief, fleeting, curtailed, condensed, terse, succinct, pithy, abridged, compressed, short-lived; Antonym: sustained, lasting.
4. In the early future.

Example: short date
5. Indicating a seemingly short length of time.

Example: For a few short weeks we could enjoy our time together
6. Said of a temper: quickly and easily lost.
7. Rudely abrupt; curt.

Example: She was very short with him
Thesaurus: curt, rude, cantankerous, quarrelsome, impatient, irascible, petulant.
8. Said of the memory: tending not to retain things for long.
9. Said of a substance, especially food: brittle.
10. Said of pastry: crisp and crumbling easily.
11. Failing to reach the standard; not going far enough.
12. In short supply; in demand.

Example: We are two tickets short
Thesaurus: inadequate, deficient, lacking, wanting; Antonym: sufficient.
13. In default.
14. Referring to the sale of what one cannot supply.
15. phonetics.
Said of a vowel sound: being the briefer of two possible lengths of vowel.
16. poetry.
Said of a syllable: unaccented.
17. colloq
Said of an alcoholic drink, especially a spirit: not diluted with water; neat.
18. Lacking in money.

Example: I'm a bit short at the moment
19. cricket.
Said of fielding positions: relatively close to the batsman.
20. Said of betting odds: providing the winner with only a small profit; near even.

adverb

1. Abruptly; briefly.

Example: stopped short
2. On this or the near side.

Example: The dart fell short of the board

noun

1. Something that is short.
2. Shortness; abbreviation or summary.
3. colloq
A drink of an alcoholic spirit.
4. A short cinema film shown before the main feature film.
5. A short circuit.

verb

tr & intr
shorted, shorting
1. To short-circuit.

Derivative: shortness
noun

Idiom: be caught short (be taken short)

colloq
To have an urgent need to urinate or defecate.

Idiom: cut someone or something short

See under cut.

Idiom: fall short

To be insufficient; to be less than a required, expected or stated amount.

Idiom: for short

As an abbreviated form.
Example: She gets called Jenny for short

Idiom: go short of something (run short of something)

Not to have enough of it; to have an insufficient supply of it.
Example: We're running short of milk

Idiom: in short

Concisely stated; in a few words.

Idiom: in short order

Very quickly.
Thesaurus: soon, rapidly, without delay, quickly.

Idiom: in short supply

Not available in the required or desired quantity; scarce.
Example: Food is in short supply in Bosnia

Idiom: in the short run

Within a short space of time; over a brief period.

Idiom: make short work of someone or something

To settle or dispose of quickly and thoroughly.
Example: I made short work of the essay

Idiom: short and sweet

colloq
Agreeably brief.

Idiom: short for something

An abbreviated form of it.
Example: Jenny is short for Jennifer

Idiom: short of something (short on something)

Deficient; lacking in it.
Example: We're always short of money
Example: She's a bit short on tact

Idiom: short of something

Without going as far as it; except it.
Example: We tried every kind of persuasion short of threats

Idiom: stop short

To come to an abrupt halt or standstill.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon sceort.