catch vs earplug

catch

verb
  • To take or replenish something necessary, such as breath or sleep. 

  • To attract and hold (a faculty or organ of sense). 

  • To grasp mentally: perceive and understand. 

  • To unpleasantly discover unexpectedly; to unpleasantly surprise (someone doing something). 

  • To acquire, as though by infection; to take on through sympathy or infection. 

  • To make a grasping or snatching motion (at). 

  • Of fire, to spread or be conveyed to. 

  • To be held back or impeded. 

  • To get pregnant. 

  • To end a player's innings by catching a hit ball before the first bounce. 

  • To be the victim of (something unpleasant, painful etc.). 

  • To entrap or trip up a person; to deceive. 

  • To reach (someone) with a strike, blow, weapon etc. 

  • To be hit by something. 

  • To receive or be affected by (wind, water, fire etc.). 

  • To have something be held back or impeded. 

  • To contact a wave in such a way that one can ride it back to shore. 

  • To travel by means of. 

  • To become infected by (an illness). 

  • To reproduce or echo a spirit or idea faithfully. 

  • To serve well or poorly for catching, especially for catching fish. 

  • To seize or intercept an object moving through the air (or, sometimes, some other medium). 

  • To grip (the water) with one's oars at the beginning of the stroke. 

  • To become pregnant. (Only in past tense or as participle.) 

  • To charm or entrance. 

  • To grip or entangle. 

  • To handle an exception. 

  • To play (a specific period of time) as the catcher. 

  • To spread by infection or similar means. 

  • To take in; to watch or listen to (an entertainment). 

  • To engage with some mechanism; to stick, to succeed in interacting with something or initiating some process. 

  • To capture or snare (someone or something which would rather escape). 

  • To germinate and set down roots. 

  • To be touched or affected by (something) through exposure. 

  • To overtake or catch up to; to be in time for. 

noun
  • The act of noticing, understanding or hearing. 

  • A crick; a sudden muscle pain during unaccustomed positioning when the muscle is in use. 

  • A stopping mechanism, especially a clasp which stops something from opening. 

  • The game of catching a ball. 

  • A hesitation in voice, caused by strong emotion. 

  • A find, in particular a boyfriend or girlfriend or prospective spouse. 

  • A fragment of music or poetry. 

  • The act of catching a hit ball before it reaches the ground, resulting in an out. 

  • Passing opportunities seized; snatches. 

  • The act of catching an object in motion, especially a ball. 

  • The act of seizing or capturing. 

  • A type of humorous round in which the voices gradually catch up with one another; usually sung by men and often having bawdy lyrics. 

  • A slight remembrance; a trace. 

  • A crop which has germinated and begun to grow. 

  • The first contact of an oar with the water. 

  • A concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation. 

  • A player in respect of his catching ability; particularly one who catches well. 

  • A stoppage of breath, resembling a slight cough. 

  • The refrain; a line or lines of a song which are repeated from verse to verse. 

  • Something which is captured or caught. 

earplug

verb
  • To fit with earplugs. 

noun
  • A piece of protective gear meant to be inserted in the ear canal to protect the wearer's hearing from loud noises or the intrusion of water. 

How often have the words catch and earplug occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )