imp. & p. p. of Get. See Get. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ phonetic transcription of colloquial speech, from got you. ] A situation in which a mistake by one person which is pointed out by another person; see gotcha, phr.. [ colloq., phonetic spelling ] [ PJC ]

2. A situation in which an error or indiscretion by one person is deliberately caused by another person -- a mild form of entrapment with malicious or humorous intent; as, he was furious to be the victim of a gotcha [ PJC ]

Kathleen "Kit" Gingrich (Sept. 23), 77, mother of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich . . . became famous as the victim of a "gotcha" interview by CBS's Connie Chung; the TV personality coaxed ("whisper it to me, just between you and me") out of Mrs. Gingrich a nasty comment attributed to her son concerning then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton -- and then aired it. World on the Web [ Obituary notice: October 4, 2003 ]. [ PJC ]

3. A situation or attribute which tends to cause one to make an error; as, one of the main gotchas in learning English is the frequency of non-phonetic spellings. [ PJC ]

phr. [ phonetic transcription of colloquial speech. ] Got you; I got you; as, I gotcha!. [ PJC ]

Phonetic transcriptions of rapid colloquial speech are sometimes used in place of the grammatically proper spelling in order to provide a flavor of the original spirit of a spoken dialogue. See also the related entries for gonna, gotta, wanna, and wannabe. [ colloq., phonetic spelling ] [ PJC ]

n. [ Cf. LG. gote, gaute, canal, G. gosse; akin to giessen to pour, shed, AS. geótan, and E. fuse to melt. ] A channel for water. [ Prov. Eng. ] Crose. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Geog.) prop. n. a port in southwestern Sweden; the second largest city in Sweden.
Syn. -- Goeteborg, Gothenburg. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A gutter. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. Gothi, pl.; cf. Gr. &unr_; ] 1. (Ethnol.) One of an ancient Teutonic race, who dwelt between the Elbe and the Vistula in the early part of the Christian era, and who overran and took an important part in subverting the Roman empire. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Under the reign of Valens, they took possession of Dacia (the modern Transylvania and the adjoining regions), and came to be known as Ostrogoths and Visigoths, or East and West Goths; the former inhabiting countries on the Black Sea up to the Danube, and the latter on this river generally. Some of them took possession of the province of Moesia, and hence were called Moesogoths. Others, who made their way to Scandinavia, at a time unknown to history, are sometimes styled Suiogoths. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who is rude or uncivilized; a barbarian; a rude, ignorant person. Chesterfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A wiseacre; a person deficient in wisdom; -- so called from Gotham, in Nottinghamshire, England, noted for some pleasant blunders. Bp. Morton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A gothamist. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An inhabitant of New York city. [ Jocular ] Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The language of the Goths; especially, the language of that part of the Visigoths who settled in Moesia in the 4th century. See Goth. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Bishop Ulfilas or Walfila translated most of the Bible into Gothic about the Middle of the 4th century. The portion of this translaton which is preserved is the oldest known literary document in any Teutonic language. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A kind of square-cut type, with no hair lines. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ This is Nonpareil GOTHIC. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Arch.) The style described in Gothic, a., 2. [ 1913 Webster ]