catch a flight

Meaning

To 'catch a flight' means to board an airplane or arrive in time to travel on a scheduled flight. It is a very common, casual way to talk about traveling by air. You often use it when you are planning your travel schedule or are in a hurry to get to the airport.

Examples

• I have to leave the meeting early because I need to catch a flight at five.

  I have to leave the meeting early because I need to catch a flight at five.

• We had to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch our flight to Denver.

  We had to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch our flight to Denver.

• If we don't hurry up and get in the taxi, we aren't going to catch our flight.

  If we don't hurry up and get in the taxi, we aren't going to catch our flight.

• She's catching a flight to London tomorrow morning for a family reunion.

  She's catching a flight to London tomorrow morning for a family reunion.

• I managed to catch a flight at the last minute after my original one was canceled.

  I managed to catch a flight at the last minute after my original one was canceled.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I need to take a taxi to lose my flight.

  ✓ I need to take a taxi to catch my flight.

  In English, we say 'catch' a flight when we make it on time, and 'miss' a flight when we are late. 'Lose' is not used for scheduled transport.

• ✗ We ran through the terminal to get a flight.

  ✓ We ran through the terminal to catch a flight.

  While 'get a flight' usually refers to booking or buying a ticket, 'catch a flight' specifically means physically boarding the plane before it departs.

Related Expressions

Practice

• We need to leave for the airport now if we want to ___ our flight.

  💡 To arrive in time to board

  Show answer

  catch

• I'm ___ a flight to Paris tomorrow night, so I need to pack my bags.

  💡 Present continuous form of the verb

  Show answer

  catching