catch your breath

🌎Region: International 📊Difficulty Level:intermediate

💡Meaning

To stop briefly to recover normal breathing and regain composure after exertion, surprise, stress, or excitement.

🕰️Origin

Originally literal: after running or physical effort you “catch” (recover) your breath. It broadened to mean regaining composure after shock or stress.

📝Notes

Common and informal-neutral. Often implies a brief pause to recover physically or emotionally after stress, surprise, or exertion. Not usually used for long rest or recovery.

💬Examples

Give me a minute to catch my breath after those stairs.
She paused at the doorway, trying to catch her breath before speaking.
The news was so shocking that I had to sit down and catch my breath.
Let’s take a short break so everyone can catch their breath.
Once I caught my breath, I realized nothing was actually wrong.

📘Grammar & Usage Notes

Usually used as a verb phrase: catch my/your/his/her/their breath. Often with “to” or “so” clauses (to catch my breath, so I can catch my breath). Tense changes: caught my breath.

🔗Synonyms

recover your breath
regain your breath
take a breather
pause to compose yourself

↔️Antonyms

lose your breath
be out of breath