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Glite Dictionary
to catch a case

to catch a case

1 9.9
Get in trouble with the law by being charged with a crime
  • idiom
  • Slang
translation icon : meterse en problemas legales
  • If he keeps hanging out with those guys, he will definitely catch a case soon.

Examples

  • Actually, I, uh, caught a case.

    Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)

  • Until he caught a case where everything led to one man... known only by his street name, the Engineer.

    Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)

  • Chin said you caught a case.

    Yellow Ticket (2024)

  • You're going to catch a case if you keep breaking the law.

  • She warned him that his reckless driving could lead him to catch a case.

Antonyms

to stay out of trouble
48 3.2

To avoid getting into problems with the police or people in charge

How Serious

conviction
  • Formal
282 4.3
to arrest
∞ 3.4
to catch a case
  • Slang
1 9.9

Surface Forms

catch a case infinitive
catching a case present participle
catches a case third person singular
caught a case past
caught a case past participle

Morphology

catch + a + case

The constituent meanings — 'catch' as 'get/acquire' and 'case' as 'a legal matter' — give a plausible compositional reading ('get involved in a legal case'), so some learners could infer a general legal trouble sense. However, the phrase is colloquial/slang and specifically means being charged/arrested; that pragmatic, idiomatic nuance is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The idiom catch a case comes from the simple image of catch meaning 'to grab' and case meaning 'a legal case'. Imagine catching a ball you suddenly have to hold; catching a 'case' means you suddenly get a legal problem you cannot drop, so it means 'to become involved in legal trouble'.