commanding attention; "an arresting drawing of people turning into animals"; "a sensational concert--one never to be forgotten"; "a stunning performance"
a tight feeling in some part of the body; "he felt a constriction in her chest"; "she felt an alarming tightness in her chest"; "emotion caused a constriction of his throat"
tight or narrow compression
a narrowing that reduces the flow through a channel
a wrestling hold in which the arms are pressed against the opponent's windpipe
complete power over a person or situation; "corporations have a stranglehold on the media"; "the president applied a chokehold to labor disputes that inconvenienced the public"
the act of forcibly dispossessing an owner of property
the removal of an opponent's piece from the chess board
the act of taking of a person by force
any process in which an atomic or nuclear system acquires an additional particle
a process whereby a star or planet holds an object in its gravitational field
capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping; "I caught a rabbit in the trap toady"
succeed in representing or expressing something intangible; "capture the essence of Spring"; "capture an idea"
attract; cause to be enamored; "She captured all the men's hearts"
bring about the capture of an elementary particle or celestial body and causing it enter a new orbit; "This nucleus has captured the slow-moving neutrons"; "The star captured a comet"
termination of operations; "they regretted the closure of the day care center"
a Gestalt principle of organization holding that there is an innate tendency to perceive incomplete objects as complete and to close or fill gaps and to perceive asymmetric stimuli as symmetric
a rule for limiting or ending debate in a deliberative body
terminate debate by calling for a vote; "debate was closured"; "cloture the discussion"
a punishment in which a student must stay at school after others have gone home; "the detention of tardy pupils"
a state of being confined (usually for a short time); "his detention was politically motivated"; "the prisoner is on hold"; "he is in the custody of police"
a serve that strikes the net before falling into the receiver's court; the ball must be served again
leave unchanged; "let it be"
actively cause something to happen; "I let it be known that I was not interested"
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen; "This permits the water to rush in"; "This sealed door won't allow the water come into the basement"; "This will permit the rain to run off"
some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity; "the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a break in the action when a player was hurt"