D defs.my
Entry 4 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

gotcha

/(gŭn"nŭ)/ · got·cha · IPA /ˈɡɑ.tʃə/
01 phr. Got you; I got you; as, I gotcha!.
  1. 1.
    Got you; I got you; as, I gotcha!.
02 n. A situation in which a mistake by one person which is pointed out by another person; see gotcha, phr..
  1. 1.
    A situation in which a mistake by one person which is pointed out by another person; see gotcha, phr..[colloq., phonetic spelling] See: gotcha
  2. 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
    “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].
  3. 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. See: gotchas