catch your breath

catch (one's) breath

1. To resume or try to resume breathing normally after a physically taxing activity that results in heavy breathing. Can we stop for a minute? I need to catch my breath—I can't run as fast as you guys!
2. To stop breathing momentarily as a result of fear or surprise. I caught my breath when I saw the gruesome injuries Adam had sustained in the accident.
See also: breath, catch
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

catch your ˈbreath

stop breathing for a moment (because of surprise, fear, shock, etc.): The magnificent view made us catch our breath.
See also: breath, catch
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • catch (one's) breath
  • catch breath
  • catch one's breath
  • breathing spell
  • time to catch (one's) breath
  • time to catch breath
  • second wind, to get one's
  • pick (something) up where (one) left off
  • let (one) get on with (something)
  • let get on with
References in classic literature
No, you FEEL like you are laying dead still on the water; and if a little glimpse of a snag slips by you don't think to yourself how fast YOU'RE going, but you catch your breath and think, my!
Read this, and then after you catch your breath, watch the superb, proudly freaky Korean film adaptation, The Handmaiden.
"I wanted to throw even more punches but it's hard to catch your breath after two or three blows," said the 18-year old in Filipino.
DID you catch your breath like me when the sound of Ziggy Stardust resounded around the Olympic Stadium at the closing ceremony?
"In football you can have a bit of time to catch your breath when you knock the ball around, but in hockey it's go, go, go."
Catch your breath at the summit as you enjoy spectacular 360 degree views of East London.
Before you can catch your breath, Frost (David Jason, left) has explained that you've got three weeks to knock a play into shape and stage it at a West End Theatre.
CATCH your breath as your senses are bombarded with delight from the minute you step through the gates.
If it's a one-on-one situation, or a small dinner party, as you right yourself after your hoot, wipe your eyes, try to catch your breath, sigh, look at the speaker, do a respectable double take, and wide-eye the person with, "Oh my God, you mean it." Repeat.
His audience was just soaking in each joke and rebounding with the kind of laughter that leaves you unable to catch your breath. Her whole body shook when she laughed--pigtails and all.
Today's versions learn best if you speak at a normal speed and read text material with breaks only to catch your breath. The software learns by associating what you say with a specific word or phrase, as well as the way you say it.
If you need to catch your breath during the day, you can choose among many activities for ecotourism, such as: Cerro Blanco tropical dry forest, Puerto Hondo mangroves, or a visit to the Botanical Garden with its exotic orchids, one of which is named after the city.
Farmer's Walk: Shake hands with a farmer, and after you catch your breath and your hand returns to its normal color, you'll understand why we use this exercise.
When you catch your breath, you'll be relived to know that ThreatPlan.org offers multiple resources for handling such situations, including a free CD-ROM, "Bomb Threat Response: An Interactive Planning Tool For Schools." The disc, which can be ordered online at http://www.threatplan,org/, outlines a step-by-step process to devise a bomb threat response plan for your school.
Slow down and catch your breath before the big birthday blowout.