Essential Phrasal Verbs, Part 3:

Phrasal verbs using the verb, “catch”:

Many phasal verbs using “catch” have an obvious meaning, but not all:

catch fire to become extremely popular or well-known (more intensive than catch on below)

“News of the baby panda bear’s birth has really caught fire among the public.”

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catch hell to receive someone’s anger and its consequences

“You’re going to catch hell  from your wife if she finds out what you did!”

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catch on to become popular

“This new line of clothing is really catching on!”

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catch on to realize, understand

“We'd better leave before they catch on to what we're doing.”

“I'm starting to catch on to how this software works.”

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catch up to reach the level of a competitor or an unrealized goal

“We’ve got a lot to catch up on if we want to win the Anderson account.”

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catch up with to get the latest information

“I’d like to catch up with you on the Anderson account.”

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catch up with earlier actions will return with negative results

“All his drinking and smoking is going to catch up with him someday.”

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And one idiom:

catch someone with their pants down usually formed in the past tense: to surprise in an embarrassing way

“Samsung believes its latest smart phone has caught Apple with its pants down.”

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