capture

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun the act of forcibly dispossessing an owner of property
noun a process whereby a star or planet holds an object in its gravitational field
noun any process in which an atomic or nuclear system acquires an additional particle

Borrowed from Middle French capture (noun), from Latin captūra. Displaced native Old English fenġ (noun) and ġefōn (verb).

Philadelphia captured by the British. — A School History of the United States, John Bach McMaster
Amsterdam, captured by the Prussians, 378, 379. — William Pitt and national revival, J. Holland (John Holland) Rose
The Fowler then ran up quickly and captured her. — Aesop's Fables; a new translation, Aesop

gaining control, seizure

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