〜がち
tend to, be prone to (something bad)
Verb ます-stem / Noun + がち (+ だ · の Noun)
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がち says something tends to happen, usually something unwelcome: 冬は風邪をひきがちだ, "people tend to catch colds in winter". It attaches to a ます-stem or a noun.
It works like a な-adjective: 休みがちだ, 遅れがちになる, and with の before a noun: 曇りがちの天気, "mostly cloudy weather". 病気がち means "sickly".
Compare やすい, which says something is easy to do or likely to happen, without judging it. がち implies it happens more than it should.
It describes a pattern over time, not a single event: for "I caught a cold yesterday", use the plain past.
Examples
冬は風邪をひきがちだ。
People tend to catch colds in winter.
彼は最近、学校を休みがちだ。
He's been missing school a lot lately.
忙しいと、食事が遅れがちになる。
When I'm busy, my meals tend to get pushed back.
曇りがちの天気が続いている。
It's been mostly cloudy for days.
一人暮らしだと、野菜が不足しがちだ。
When you live alone, you tend not to get enough vegetables.