Gotcha

How to spell gotcha

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce gotcha

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does gotcha mean?

1. interjectionAn informal exclamation meaning that you have caught, understood, or outwitted someone.
2. nounA deliberate trick, trap, or hidden catch designed to catch someone out.

Gotcha in a sentence

• interjection

  Gotcha was scrawled across the prank note left on his desk.

• noun

  The contract contained a nasty gotcha buried in the fine print.

• interjection

  A cheerful gotcha rang out the moment the surprise was sprung.

• noun

  The interview felt like one long gotcha aimed at tripping her up.

Where does gotcha come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

Gotcha is simply the phrase 'got you' written the way it sounds in fast, casual speech. The verb 'get' is very old, coming into English from Old Norse 'geta', meaning 'to obtain' or 'to reach', and it largely displaced the related native Old English forms. When 'I have got you' is spoken quickly, the final 't' of 'got' blends with the 'y' of 'you', producing the 'ch' sound that the spelling captures. Writers began representing this casual pronunciation as 'gotcha' in the twentieth century, especially in American fiction and comics trying to mimic real speech. Over time it hardened into a fixed word in its own right, used both as a cry of triumph and, more recently, as a noun for a deliberate trick or trap, as in 'gotcha journalism'. The spelling trap is the unexpected 'tch' cluster swallowing the original 'got you' join.

How the word is built

• got (past tense of 'get')
• cha (worn-down spelling of 'you'/'ya')