collocation · neutral
catch a cold
UK/kætʃ ə kəʊld/US/kætʃ ə koʊld/CATCH·a·COLD
Band 4-5speakingtask2
to become slightly ill with symptoms such as a runny nose or sneezing
Examples
“I stayed out in the rain and caught a cold the next day.”
“Kids easily catch a cold when the weather changes.”
“If you sit in a cold room without a jacket you might catch a cold.”
Band 8 sentence
“Even though I wrapped up warmly, I still caught a cold after waiting in the rain for an hour.”
Collocations
- catch a cold after being wet
- catch a cold easily
Word family
catch verbcaught verb (past)catching a cold verb phrasea cold noun phrase
Common mistakes
take a cold→catch a cold
have cold→have a cold
Say it for a higher band
5get sick→6get a cold→7+catch a cold
Synonyms
come down with a cold
have a cold
Easily confused
come down with a cold
“After the long flight, several people came down with a cold.”
Related words
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In Health & Fitness
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