1. To take captive, as by force or craft; seize.
2. To gain possession or control of, as in a game or contest: capture the queen in chess; captured the liberal vote.
3. To attract and hold: tales of adventure that capture the imagination.
4. To succeed in preserving in lasting form: capture a likeness in a painting.

1. The act of catching, taking, or winning, as by force or skill.
2. One that has been seized, caught, or won; a catch or prize.
3. Physics. The phenomenon in which an atom or a nucleus absorbs a subatomic particle, often with the subsequent emission of radiation.

[From French, capture, from Old French, from Latin captūra, a catching of animals, from captus, past participle of capere, to seize.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.