From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcatch your breathcatch your breath (also get your breath back) to start breathing normally again after running or making a lot of effort Slow down, I need to catch my breath. → breath
Examples from the Corpus
catch your breath• Both waders immediately filled and I caught my breath as freezing April waters began to stimulate sensitive nether regions.• Tokyo stocks fell Monday as investors caught their breath following a strong advance over the two previous sessions.• She could hear Moxie catching her breath.• Busacher slumped into the passenger seat and sat catching his breath.• She caught her breath in fear, holding it until the answer came.• Clark had to sit down to catch his breath.• And then history paused, just to catch its breath.• I said, falling on to a chair, trying to catch my breath.• The slow movement of this performance is particularly fine, with pianissimos that have you catching your breath.catch your breathcatch your breatha) PAUSEto pause for a moment after a lot of physical effort in order to breathe normally again Hang on a minute – let me catch my breath! b) BREATHEto stop breathing for a moment because something has surprised, frightened, or shocked you c) to take some time to stop and think about what you will do next after having been very busy or active It was an enforced absence from work, but at least it gave me a little time to catch my breath before the final push. → catchExamples from the Corpus
catch your breath• And then history paused, just to catch its breath.• Busacher slumped into the passenger seat and sat catching his breath.• I said, falling on to a chair, trying to catch my breath.• She could hear Moxie catching her breath.• The slow movement of this performance is particularly fine, with pianissimos that have you catching your breath.• Both waders immediately filled and I caught my breath as freezing April waters began to stimulate sensitive nether regions.• Tokyo stocks fell Monday as investors caught their breath following a strong advance over the two previous sessions.• She caught her breath in fear, holding it until the answer came. 