catch the bus

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see catch, the, bus.

Meanings

verbcatch the bus (third-person singular simple present catches the bus, present participle catching the bus, simple past and past participle caught the bus)

present singular third person catches the bus · participle present catching the bus · participle past caught the bus · past caught the bus

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see catch, the, bus.
  2. InterneteuphemisticTo kill oneself deliberately; to commit suicide.

    I have the tools for catching the bus, just not the nerve. Soft suicide I can do. Take some pills, no problem. But never do I succeed that way.

    2000, (unknown), “catching the bus tonight..... I hope.....”, in alt.suicide.holiday (Usenet)
    3 more examples

    If anyone's curious, here's a song my band recorded (totally raw... it never made it out of the studio). A friend of mine caught the bus, and this was my way of saying "Peace."

    2004, everwestward, “Is suicide contagious? (was Re: Favorite Songs)”, in alt.suicide.holiday (Usenet)

    Anyway at the end of my day, I decided to give him a call because the worse^([sic]) thing that would happen is that I would have to catch the bus.

    2010, Michael F. Clark, Life By Suicide, page 116

    this wasn't the first time he spoke of suicide--this was a suicide chat room after all […] 00sexboy00: tonights^([sic]) the night to catch the bus john! u been crying u pussy? ur slanty eyes are all red! john squeezed them shut and nodded. gabe wanted to reach a hand through the monitor to comfort his friend. but all he could do was type.

    2011, Jake Vander Ark, Lighthouse Nights

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

Originated on the alt.suicide.holiday Usenet newsgroup in the 1990s.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

catch the bus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catch%20the%20bus

MLA

“catch the bus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catch%20the%20bus. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “catch the bus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catch%20the%20bus.

Source: catch the bus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.