catch one's breath vs take a breather

catch one's breath and take a breather both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
catch one's breath	No	No	Yes	No
take a breather	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, catch one's breath and take a breather are synonyms defined as:

catch one's breath and take a breather: take a short break from one's activities in order to relax

Other synonyms of catch one's breath include breathe, rest.

catch one's breath (verb)	take a breather (verb)
take a short break from one's activities in order to relax	take a short break from one's activities in order to relax