captured
captured — verb
- capturedpresent simple I / you / we / they
- captureds3rd person singular
- captureding-ing form
- capturededpast simple
1. to catch a person or an animal and keep them as a prisoner, or to take control o
to catch a person or an animal and keep them as a prisoner, or to take control of a place using force, especially during a war or conflict
Government soldiers captured the rebel leader after a three-day chase through the jungle.
passive: be captured by [agent]
Park rangers captured the bear that kept entering the campground looking for food.
The town was captured by enemy forces during the early months of the war.
A large tiger shark was captured off the coast of southern Taiwan last November.
The thief escaped from prison but was captured again within twenty-four hours.
文法句型
capture + noun phrase (person/animal/place)
用法筆記
Commonly used in passive constructions (was captured / were captured) in news reports about military operations or police work.
常見錯誤
2. to succeed in winning a prize, gaining a position, or getting a share of somethi
to succeed in winning a prize, gaining a position, or getting a share of something that others are also trying to get
The young swimmer captured three gold medals at the Asian Games last year.
capture + medal / prize / award
The Japanese car company captured nearly thirty percent of the European market.
capture + [percentage] of the market
Our school team captured first place in the national robotics competition.
The new streaming service captured millions of subscribers in its first year alone.
Arun captured the highest score ever recorded in the university's history exam.
文法句型
capture + noun phrase (prize/market share/record)
用法筆記
Often appears in business or sports contexts to describe gaining a significant share, award, or record through effort.
3. to represent or express a quality, feeling, or atmosphere very accurately throug
to represent or express a quality, feeling, or atmosphere very accurately through art, writing, or performance
The photographer captured the sadness in the old woman's eyes with amazing skill.
capture + emotion + in + [body part / expression]
Sofia's novel perfectly captures the loneliness of living in a big foreign city.
No photograph can truly capture the beauty of the northern lights at night.
The documentary captured the daily struggles of families living in the desert without water.
The actor's performance captured the anger and fear that the character felt inside.
文法句型
capture + noun phrase (feeling/atmosphere/essence)
用法筆記
Subject is often a creative work (film, painting, book) or a creative person (photographer, writer, actor). Object is usually an abstract quality — mood, atmosphere, emotion, spirit.
4. to use a camera or video device to make a photographic or video record of a pers
to use a camera or video device to make a photographic or video record of a person, object, or event
A tourist captured the moment when the volcano began to erupt on video.
capture the moment + on + [device]
Wei captured some amazing photos of the sunrise over the mountains last weekend.
The security camera captured the thief breaking into the shop just after midnight.
The wedding photographer captured every special moment of the ceremony beautifully.
A journalist captured the rescue operation on her phone while waiting for help to arrive.
- record
broader; can mean audio, video, or data, not just still images
- photograph
specifically about still pictures
- film
specifically about moving images
文法句型
capture + noun phrase (image/moment/scene)
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person operating a camera or video device, or the device itself (security camera, phone camera). The object is a concrete scene, person, or event — never an abstract quality. For artistic representation through writing, painting, or performance, see sense 3 (ACCURATELY DESCRIBE).
5. when a computer, sensor, or electronic device receives and stores information su
when a computer, sensor, or electronic device receives and stores information such as data, signals, or images for later use
The software captured every keystroke that the user typed during the online session.
software / system + captured + data
The satellite captured temperature readings from the desert every thirty minutes.
The new camera sensor captures clear images even in very dark conditions.
The system captured all the error logs before the main server went down completely.
文法句型
capture + noun phrase (data/information/signal)
用法筆記
Subject is always a device or system (not a person). This sense is most common in computing and engineering contexts. When a person does the recording, use sense 4 instead.
6. to cause someone to become very interested or excited, so that they give all the
to cause someone to become very interested or excited, so that they give all their attention to something
The colorful street art captured the children's imagination as soon as they saw it.
capture + [someone's] + imagination / attention / interest
The teacher's unusual science experiment captured the students' curiosity right away.
The senator's moving speech captured the attention of everyone in the crowded hall.
The mystery novel captured my interest from the very first sentence on page one.
A strange melody coming from the old piano captured the little girl's attention completely.
文法句型
capture + noun phrase (attention/imagination/interest)
用法筆記
Object is almost always an abstract noun like attention, imagination, or interest — not a person directly. For capturing a person's interest in a romantic sense, use 'catch someone's eye' or 'attract' instead.
常見錯誤
captured — noun
1. the act of catching a person or animal and taking them as a prisoner, or of taki
the act of catching a person or animal and taking them as a prisoner, or of taking control of a place by force
The capture of the bank robbers happened near the highway exit.
the capture of + [person/group]
The capture of the wild elephant required a team of twenty trained workers.
News of the soldier's capture spread quickly through the small border town.
The rebels managed to avoid capture by hiding deep in the jungle for months.
The general announced the capture of the enemy headquarters after a short battle.
- release
the act of setting free
- liberation
formal; freeing from enemy control
文法句型
the capture of + noun phrase
用法筆記
This noun form often follows prepositions like 'of' (the capture of...) or verbs like 'avoid', 'escape', 'prevent'. Common in news reporting about military or police actions.
2. a move in a board game such as chess in which you remove one of your opponent's
a move in a board game such as chess in which you remove one of your opponent's pieces from the board
The grandmaster's capture of the opponent's queen gave him a clear advantage in the game.
the capture of + [chess piece]
Fatima celebrated after the capture of the black knight with her bishop.
The young player planned the capture of the rook three moves ahead of time.
In chess, you should think carefully before each capture because it can change the whole game.
- take
the everyday verb for removing a piece in chess; 'capture' is the formal noun term
文法句型
the capture of + [chess piece]
用法筆記
Only used in the context of board games, especially chess. This sense is uncommon in everyday conversation and is domain-specific to players.