caught in the act
5
3.7
- idiom
:
atrapado en el acto
- The thief was caught in the act while trying to steal a bicycle.
And you were caught in the act right here.
- And you were caught in the act right here.
Examples
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The two would-be bandits... ...were caught in the act by a Good Samaritan... ...whose identity remains unknown.
-
Think of the woman caught in the act of adultery.
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And you were caught in the act right here.
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Director wants him caught in the act of making a drop.
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Brown is just one of many officers caught in the act of stealing goods worth thousands.
Blog text (28) -
This woman was caught in the act of adultery.
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I need them caught in the act, no chance of an alibi.
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I don't like being caught in the act any better than anyone else.
Fiction book (1994) -
She was caught in the act of adultery.
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They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
Synonyms
39
4.4
While someone is doing something wrong and someone else sees them
24
3.8
Caught in the act of doing something wrong with clear proof
9
4.6
Discovered while doing something wrong or illegal
Caught in the act with clear proof
Antonyms
How Safe
48
3.2
672
3.5
- Informal
20
3.9
77
1.1
5
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'caught' (discovered/seized) + 'in' (during/within) + 'the act' (the deed), so it literally means being discovered while performing an action. This literal, cross-linguistically common construction (e.g., Spanish 'pillado en el acto') is predictable for B1 learners who know the constituent words.
Etymology
Caught in the act gives the clear image of someone being caught while doing an act, like a child with a hand in the cookie jar or a thief in the middle of taking something. So, it means 'discovered while doing something, especially something wrong'.