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Glite Dictionary
to catch heat

to catch heat

1 8.3
To get criticism or blame from others for something you did
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : recibir críticas
  • After the new policy was announced, the mayor started to catch heat from the residents.

Examples

  • So I'm I'm going to catch heat from that from Michigan fans, but I just think you can't ride that.

  • I actually have a premonition that we are going to catch heat for this because visually your cereals did look good.

  • Nate Silver has been catching heat all week for throwing cold water on GOP delusion by, more or less, averaging state polls.

    Blog text (15)

  • The director caught heat for the film's controversial ending.

  • The athlete caught heat for his comments during the press conference.

Synonyms

to catch hell
vsto catch heat
  • Slang
5 8.2

To get a lot of blame or punishment for a mistake

is neutral and covers public or authority blame, not only slang punishment
to draw fire
vsto catch heat
4 6.7

To attract criticism and angry reactions for what you say or do

is general blame or backlash rather than only attracting hostility
to catch it
vsto catch heat
  • Informal
3 8.3

To be punished or scolded by someone in charge

is broader, including public backlash and general blame beyond punishment
to take a lot of flak
vsto catch heat
1 7.4

Get a lot of criticism or blame from other people

also covers official or public backlash beyond repeated criticism
to face backlash
vsto catch heat
  • Literature
1 6.1

To receive strong public criticism for something you do or say

is broader, including blame from authorities as well as public

Antonyms

to praise
331 1.0

To tell a person that you admire or approve of them

How Criticized

to catch hell
  • Slang
5 8.2
to draw fire
4 6.7
to catch heat
  • Informal
1 8.3
criticism
512 3.0
to blame
∞ 1.6

Surface Forms

catch heat infinitive
catching heat present participle
catches heat third person singular
caught heat past
caught heat past participle

Morphology

catch + heat

The verb 'catch' meaning 'to receive' is compositional, but 'heat' is used metaphorically for criticism or pressure rather than literal temperature. Because the figurative use of 'heat' is not directly predictable from the basic noun meaning, a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may guess the expression involves receiving something intense but would likely not reliably infer 'criticism' specifically, so it is partially but not fully transparent.

Etymology

Catch heat gives a simple picture: to catch strong heat, like standing under a hot lamp or feeling burned by a flame. That's why, when someone catches heat, they 'get blamed' or 'get criticized' for something.