verb (used with object), cap·tured, cap·tur·ing.
- 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.
- Computers.
- to enter (data) into a computer for processing or storage.
- to record (data) in preparation for such entry.
noun
- the act of capturing.
- the thing or person captured.
- Physics. the process in which an atomic or nuclear system acquires an additional particle.
- Crystallography. substitution in a crystal lattice of a trace element for an element of lower valence.
verb (tr)
- to take prisoner or gain control overto capture an enemy; to capture a town
- (in a game or contest) to win control or possession ofto capture a pawn in chess
- to succeed in representing or describing (something elusive)the artist captured her likeness
- physics (of an atom, molecule, ion, or nucleus) to acquire (an additional particle)
- to insert or transfer (data) into a computer
noun
- the act of taking by force; seizure
- the person or thing captured; booty
- physics a process by which an atom, molecule, ion, or nucleus acquires an additional particle
- Also called: piracy geography 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
1540s, from Middle French capture “a taking,” from Latin captura “a taking” (especially of animals), from captus (see captive).
1795, from capture (n.); in chess, checkers, etc., 1820. Related: Captured; capturing. Earlier verb in this sense was captive (early 15c.).
n.
- The act of catching, taking, or holding a particle or impulse.