大象传媒

The words catch and throw each have more than one meaning and they are used in lots of English expressions and idioms too. For example, Khalid said "I didn't quite catch that" which means he didn't hear what Alice said.

Here are some of the meanings of these two words, as well as some common expressions which use catch or throw.

1. take hold of something, especially something that is moving through the air
Throw me the ball and I'll catch it.

2. get an illness / become ill, especially one caused by bacteria or a virus
She caught a cold last week and has been off work for the last three days.

3. begin to burn
Just a few minutes after the fire started in the kitchen, the rest of the house caught fire.

catch someone's eye
get someone's attention, especially by looking at them
Can you try to catch the waiter's eye so we can get the bill.

a catch-22 (situation)
an impossible situation where you are prevented from doing one thing until you have done another thing
It's a catch-22. They won't give me the job because they say I don't have any experience but how can I get experience if they won't give me a job!

catch someone red-handed
find someone while they are in the act of doing something wrong or bad
They caught him red-handed trying to steal food in the supermarket.

catch your breath
begin to breathe correctly again after running, exercising or being out of breath Give me a minute to catch my breath. I've only just come in.

catch a few rays / some rays
stay outside in the sun for a short period of time I'm going out to the garden for lunch. Want to come out and catch a few rays?

1. send something through the air with force, using your arms
Throw me the ball and I'll catch it.

2. have a party
They decided to throw a party for their 10th anniversary.

3. confuse or shock someone or cause difficulty for them
She was really thrown when we turned up to visit her. I don't think she was expecting us.

throw your hat in the ring
announce your intention of entering a competition or election
As soon as the boss said she was retiring, John was the first one to throw his hat in the ring. He's clearly a very ambitious young man.

people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
you shouldn't criticize other people for bad qualities in their character that you have yourself or for things that they do that you do too
You can't complain when the other people in the office are late. You're late almost every day! You know what they say, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

throw your toys out (of) the pram
complain very loudly against a relatively minor problem and behave in a childish, spoilt or rude way
She lost the match and didn't even congratulate the other player. She just stormed off the court. She's not going to get very far in tennis if she's going to keep throwing her toys out the pram every time she loses.