miss the bus — not catch the bus
collocationB1IELTS 4+neutralcommon
to arrive too late to get on a bus, so you cannot travel on it as planned.
Say it like a native
Textbook I failed to board the bus in time.
Native I missed the bus.
'Failed to board in time' is stiff; 'miss the bus' is standard.
Pattern: miss the bus
In use
- I missed the bus this morning and had to walk to school.daily life
- If I miss the bus, I usually call my parents to pick me up.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I lost the bus this morning.
✓ I missed the bus this morning.
You MISS a bus/train/flight, not 'lose' it.
Common collocations
miss the bus— miss, the train, the flight, just missed
Don't confuse it
Do not confuse with 'catch the bus,' which means to get on the bus in time.