to catch some z's
- idiom
- Informal
:
echar una siesta
- After a long flight, I just wanted to catch some z's before dinner.
Examples
-
You'll feel better if you catch some z's before your night shift starts.
-
He sneaked away during lunch to catch some z's in his car.
-
I need to catch some z's!
-
Sarah catches some z's every afternoon.
-
After a busy week, I like to catch some z's on the weekends to recharge.
-
Ben decided to catch some z's during the movie since he was so tired.
-
Whenever I have a break, I try to catch some z's to stay alert for the rest of the day.
Synonyms
43
2.3
To sleep lightly for a short time without meaning to
23
1.0
To sleep for a short time during the day
12
4.1
To fall asleep for a short time without meaning to
2
6.1
To be half asleep for a short time
2
7.9
To fall asleep by accident because you are very tired
2
8.3
To fall asleep or pass out very quickly because you are very tired
1
4.4
To sleep for a short time during the day not in bed
1
5.5
To sleep for a short time, often during the day
To begin to fall asleep without meaning to
To sleep, often for a short time
Antonyms
How Rested
Surface Forms
Morphology
catch + some + z's
The phrase uses "Z's" as an informal/onowomatopoetic convention for snoring or sleep, which is not a standard lexical meaning a learner would know from the written constituents. Knowing 'catch' and 'some' does not let a B1 learner derive 'to sleep' without prior exposure to this cultural/idiomatic convention, so the expression is non-compositional for most learners.
Etymology
Catch some z's comes from old cartoons and comics where a sleeping person is shown with Z's above their head to mean snoring. The verb catch makes the picture of getting or 'catching' those Z's, so the phrase means 'to sleep' or 'take a nap'.