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tr.v. cap·tured, cap·tur·ing, cap·tures 1. a. To take captive, as by force or craft; seize. b. To gain possession or control of, as in a game or contest: capture the queen in chess; captured the liberal vote. 2. a. To attract and hold: tales of adventure that capture the imagination. b. Astronomy To attract and pull (a celestial body) into orbit by gravitation. 3. To succeed in preserving in lasting form: capture a likeness in a painting. n. 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. Astronomy The process by which a massive body, such as a star or planet, draws and holds another body in gravitational orbit. 4. 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; see kap- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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