Welcome to our fun world of expressions! Today, we’re exploring catch idioms—special phrases that might sound strange but have unique meanings. Even if you’re just starting to learn English, you’ll find these idioms easy to understand and fun to use. Let’s dive in and discover what these phrases mean and how you can use them in sentences!
Catch Idioms
Here are 20 catch idioms in English with meaning and example sentence for each.
1. Catch some Z’s
Meaning: Get some sleep
Example: I need to catch some Z’s before the trip.
2. Catch my drift
Meaning: Understand what I mean
Example: Do you catch my drift, or should I explain more?
3. Catch red-handed
Meaning: Caught doing something wrong
Example: He was caught red-handed stealing cookies.
4. Catch the bug
Meaning: Become very interested in something
Example: She caught the gardening bug from her mother.
5. Catch your eye
Meaning: Attract your attention
Example: That bright poster really caught my eye.
6. Catch-22
Meaning: No-win situation
Example: It’s a real catch-22 situation with those rules.
7. Catch your breath
Meaning: Pause to rest
Example: Let’s stop here and catch our breath.
8. Catch wind of
Meaning: Hear news about something
Example: Did you catch wind of the latest gossip?
9. Catch fire
Meaning: Become very popular or exciting
Example: The new song really caught fire online.
10. Catch it
Meaning: Be scolded
Example: He’ll catch it when his parents find out.
11. Catch the sun
Meaning: Get a suntan
Example: I caught the sun while at the beach.
12. Catch a break
Meaning: Experience good luck
Example: Finally, I caught a break at work!
13. Catch a cold
Meaning: Become ill with a cold
Example: I think I caught a cold from my sister.
14. Catch on
Meaning: Understand or become popular
Example: It took me a while to catch on to the rules.
15. Catch a wave
Meaning: Surf on a wave
Example: He caught a wave during his first surf lesson.
16. Catch your fancy
Meaning: Appeal to you
Example: Does that idea catch your fancy?
17. Catch the bus
Meaning: Board the bus in time
Example: Hurry up, or we won’t catch the bus!
18. Catch a glimpse
Meaning: See briefly
Example: I caught a glimpse of the eagle as it flew by.
19. Catch the spirit
Meaning: Embrace the enthusiasm
Example: She really caught the spirit of the holiday.
20. Catch hell
Meaning: Be severely reprimanded
Example: He’s going to catch hell for arriving late.
