catchy

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English

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Etymology

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From catch +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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catchy (comparative catchier, superlative catchiest)

  1. (of a tune or phrase) Instantly appealing and memorable.
    • 2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)[1]:
      The best of friends become the worst of enemies when Barney makes a hilarious attack ad where he viciously pummels a cardboard cut-out of Homer before special guest star Linda Ronstadt joins the fun to both continue the attack on the helpless Homer stand-in and croon a slanderously accurate, insanely catchy jingle about how “Mr. Plow is a loser/And I think he is a boozer.”
  2. (dated, chiefly figurative) Tending to catch or ensnare; entangling.
    a catchy question
  3. (dated) Consisting of, or occurring in, disconnected parts or snatches; changeable.
    a catchy wind
    • Encyc. of Sport
      It [the fox's scent] is [] flighty or catchy, if variable.
  4. Contagious; catching.
    • 1941, Florence LaGanke Harris, Hazel Hanna Huston, The New Home Economics Omnibus:
      The catchy cold which has been transmitted to you directly or indirectly might have been avoided had you been in better physical condition.

Derived terms

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Translations

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