catch one's breath

1. To rest until one is no longer out of breath
2. To stop breathing for an instant

draw breath

1. To breathe
2. To be alive

get one's breath back

1. To recover normal breathing after exertion
2. To recover from a surprise

hold one's breath

1. To refrain from breathing temporarily
2. To wait in anxious expectation

in the same breath

At the same time

out of breath

1. Having difficulty in breathing
2. Panting from exertion, etc

save one's breath

To refrain from pointless talk

spend or waste one's breath

To talk to no avail or profitlessly

take (one's) breath

1. To recover freedom of breathing
2. To stop for breath, rest, or refreshment

take someone's breath away

To make someone breathless with astonishment, delight, etc

with bated breath

With breath restrained out of suspense, fear or reverence

catch /kach/

transitive verb (infinitive in Spenser sometimes catchˈen or ketch; pat and pap caught /köt/, also obsolete dialect catched or catcht; pat in Spenser also keight /kīt/)

1. To take hold of, esp of a thing in motion
2. To take hold of (the ball) after the batsman has hit it and before it touches the ground (cricket)
3. To dismiss (a batsman) in this way
4. To hear (informal)
5. To understand or comprehend
6. To seize (a person, etc) after pursuit
7. To trap or ensnare when hunting, fishing, etc
8. To entangle or fasten on (to)
9. To come upon, to happen to see
10. To meet or contact (a person) (informal)
11. To be in time for
12. To take (a train, bus, etc) as a means of transport
13. To strike, hit
14. To get (a disease) by infection or contagion
15. To attract (a person's attention, notice, etc)
16. To succeed in reproducing (someone's qualities or likeness, etc) by painting, photography or imitation
17. To take (fire)

intransitive verb

1. To be contagious
2. To be entangled or fastened
3. (of a fire, or of anything to be burned) to catch light

noun

1. Seizure
2. An act of catching, esp the ball in cricket, etc
3. A clasp, or anything that fastens or holds
4. That which is caught
5. A person who is considered worth catching as a marriage partner
6. A sudden advantage taken
7. A concealed difficulty or disadvantage
8. In someone's voice, an indistinctness caused by strong emotion
9. A children's game in which a ball, etc is thrown and caught in turn
10. A round for three or more voices, often deriving comic effect from the interweaving of the words (music)

catchˈable adjective

Capable of being caught

catchˈer noun

1. A person or thing that catches
2. A fielder positioned behind the batter (baseball)

catchˈiness noun

catchˈing noun

1. The action of the verb
2. A nervous or spasmodic twitching

adjective

1. Infectious (medicine or figurative)
2. Captivating, attractive

catchˈment noun

1. The act of collecting water
2. The water collected from a river, etc
3. A catchment area
4. The pupils collected from a school catchment area

catchˈy adjective

1. Attractive
2. Deceptive
3. (of a tune, etc) readily taking hold in the mind, memorable
4. Fitful

catchˈ-all adjective

Covering or dealing with a number of instances, eventualities or problems, esp ones not covered or dealt with by other provisions

catch-as-catch-canˈ noun

A style of wrestling in which any hold is allowed

adjective and adverb (esp N American)

Using any method that is available

catchˈ-basin or catchˈ-pit noun

A trap for dirt in a drain

catchˈ-crop noun

A secondary crop grown before, after, or at the same time as, and on the same piece of ground as, a main crop

catchˈ-drain noun

A drain on a hillside to catch the surface-water

catchˈfly noun

A name for a species of campion (Lychnis viscaria) and several bladder campion (genus Silene) with sticky stems

catching pen noun (Aust and NZ)

A pen for holding sheep awaiting shearing

catchˈline noun

A slogan, esp in advertising or politics

catchment area noun

1. The area from which a river or reservoir is fed (also catchment basin)
2. The area from which the pupils for a school are drawn, or the locality served by some other public facility such as a library or a hospital

Catchment board noun (NZ)

A public body responsible for water supply from a catchment area

catchˈpenny noun

A worthless thing made only for profit (also adjective)

catchˈphrase noun

1. A phrase that becomes popular and is much repeated
2. A slogan

catch-pit see catch-basin above.

catch points plural noun

Railway points which can derail a train to prevent it accidentally running onto a main line

catch-the-tenˈ noun

A card game in which the aim is to capture the ten of trumps

Catchˈ-22ˈ adjective

(title of novel by J Heller, 1961) denoting an absurd situation in which one can never win, being constantly balked by a clause, rule, etc which itself can alter to block any change in one's course of action, or being faced with a choice of courses of action, both or all of which would have undesirable consequences

noun

Such a situation

catchˈweed noun

Goosegrass or cleavers

catchˈweight adjective (wrestling)

Denoting a contest in which weight is unrestricted

catchˈword noun

1. The word at the head of the page in a dictionary or encyclopaedia
2. (in typed correspondence) the first word of a page given at the bottom of the preceding page
3. Any word or phrase taken up and repeated, esp as the watchword or slogan of a political party
4. An actor's cue

catch at

To make a hasty attempt to catch

catch cold (at)

To suffer a financial or other misfortune (as a result of making an unwise investment, etc)

catch fire or light

1. To become ignited
2. To become inspired by passion or enthusiasm

catch hold of

To seize

catch it (informal)

To get a scolding or reprimand

catch me or him, etc

An emphatic colloquial phrase implying that there is not the remotest possibility of my or his, etc doing the thing mentioned

catch on

1. To comprehend
2. To become fashionable, to catch the popular imagination

catch one's breath see under breath

catch one's death see under death

catch out

To detect in error or deceit

catch sight of

To get a glimpse of

catch someone's drift

To follow and understand what someone is talking about

catch up

1. To draw level (with) and sometimes overtake
2. To bring oneself up to date with

catch up or away

To snatch or seize hastily

caught up in

Engrossed or involved in