Learn English expressions with catch. Fixed English expressions will help you upgrade your advanced English vocabulary.
Start using fixed expressions in your conversational English and speak like a native speaker.
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Speak better English with Harry - Episode 331
List of collocations with catch
Harry
English expressions with catch
Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to my English learning podcast where I try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language.
If you want to improve your conversational English, or you want to travel, whatever the reason is, I’m here to help.
What are we going to talk about in this episode? We want to look at the word catch. And in particular, we’re going to look at expressions with the word catch.
Make sure you pronounce that cat-ch /ch/ at the end. Cat-ch.
catch – caught – caught
Let me give you some examples.
Intermediate to Advanced English Marathon
INSANITY: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
The first one
to catch a train/plane/bus
is quite simple. It’s just the act of having to go and get your train or your plane or your bus.
I’m in a hurry, I have to catch a bus at four o’clock. And if I miss that, I’m going to be late home for dinner.
I have to catch a plane in two hours. And you know what the traffic is? I better jump in that taxi, I’ll call you later.
What time are you catching your train?
Next,
to catch your breath
Meaning: to take an opportunity or a break to catch up on something
Literally, it could mean that you have been running or exercising and you stopped to take a breather.
I just have to take five minutes to catch my breath. I’m exhausted.
We can use it in another way when we are really busy.
Let me just take 10 minutes here, I need to catch my breath.
Meaning I need a break, I need to just step out of the room, I need to have a bit of thinking time.
You could use it in the negative and say,
God, I was so busy yesterday, I hardly had time to catch my breath.
Slow down, catch your breath, take it easy. Don’t be so anxious. Just tell me what happened.
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Next,
to catch someone’s eye
Meaning: to be noticed, to attract someone’s attention
When we’re in a restaurant, or a bar or cafe, and it’s time to leave and time to get the bill, you try to catch the eye of the waiter.
If you just catch the eye of the waiter when they go by, I want to pay the bill so that we can go now.
We can always ask,
Did anything catch your eye?
Meaning did anything appeal to you or did you see anything that you liked?
to catch the sun
Meaning: to get the blanket out, get the picnic basket, lie on the grass, and soak in those rays of the sun
I’d like to catch the sun for an hour before I have to work.
I have to move to another part of the garden where the sun shines to catch the sun.
Now we can also say when somebody comes in on a Monday or Tuesday, and you look at them and their face is a little red, and you say,
Wow, you caught the sun!
Meaning you’ve got a little bit of sunburn or suntan.
English expressions with catch
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to catch the wave
Meaning: to take an opportunity presented to you, especially an opportunity to do something new
Bill Gates caught the wave of new technology brilliantly.
to be/get caught in the middle
Meaning: to be stuck between two opposing sides in an argument
He was caught in the middle of an argument between two of his best friends.
Don’t involve me, please. Try and sort it out. I don’t like to be caught in the middle, where I’m going to be blamed by both sides.
Now we could go out and we’re going for a walk, we don’t take a jacket, we don’t take an umbrella, and it starts to rain. If we go back, it’s going to be wet. If we go on, we’re going to be wet. So we’re caught in the middle of a rainstorm. Either way, if we go, it’s not going to turn out so well.
English expressions with catch
to catch a glimpse of somebody/something
Meaning: to get a very quick look, not a very detailed look
I’m sure I saw Michael. I haven’t seen Michael for years. I caught a glimpse of him just as he was getting out of a car. When I got closer, he had already gone.
I can’t be certain but I think I got a glimpse of the person you’re looking for but I couldn’t be very specific.
I can’t give you a really good description. I only caught a glimpse of him from behind, so I didn’t see his face.
Did you catch a glimpse of the match last night? It was really, really good. I really enjoyed it.
catch somebody’s attention/interest/imagination
Meaning: to make something really interesting and attractive
You need to make sure that your webpage is really attractive so that when people land on it, you can catch their interest and their imagination.
English expressions with catch
Next,
to catch somebody off guard
Meaning: when you catch someone off guard or someone catches you off guard, you’re not expecting something and you get a little bit of a surprise or a shock
You caught me off guard there. I wasn’t quite expecting anybody. I was just having a little relaxation before I got back into work.
He went past me and very easily and scored a goal. I was caught off guard.
The security guard wasn’t expecting anybody and he was caught off guard by the robbers.
to catch somebody with their pants/trousers down
Meaning: to be in a difficult or embarrassing situation, not able to explain what happened
Adam was caught with his pants down when he came to the board meeting unprepared.
English expressions with catch
And finally,
to catch you later
It’s just a very simple expression that we use when we want to finish a conversation or we want to leave.
Okay, guys, I’ll catch you later. It’s time I head off. I’ll see you sometime tomorrow or the next day.
So to catch you later is just a way of telling people that it’s time to go.
Here are English expressions with catch:
- to catch a train/plane/bus
- to catch your breath
- to catch someone’s eye
- to catch the sun
- to catch the wave
- to be caught in the middle
- to catch a glimpse of somebody/something
- to catch somebody’s attention/interest/imagination
- to catch somebody off guard
- to catch somebody with their pants/trousers down
- to catch you later
That’s the end of this particular podcast episode.
As I said, if you want to pass the details on to somebody who you think might enjoy it, well, why not give them my details. My contact details are www.englishlessonviaskype.com
Always happy to hear from you. Thanks for listening. Join me again soon.
More information
For more information on English grammar rules, English collocations and English idioms, check out the links below:
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