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Glite Dictionary
⚖️ At fault 🚨 Caught in crime
in delicto

in delicto

9.9
Caught in the act of committing a crime
  • idiom
  • /ɪn dɪˈlɛktoʊ/
  • Formal
translation icon : in fraganti
  • The suspect was caught in delicto during the robbery.

Examples

  • Police officers arrived just in time to catch the suspect in delicto.

  • The evidence clearly showed that he was in delicto at the time of the incident.

  • The thief was apprehended in delicto by the store security.

  • The judge noted that the defendant had been found in delicto during the investigation.

  • The police arrested the man who was caught in delicto while committing the burglary.

  • After reviewing the evidence, the court found him in delicto during the illegal transaction.

  • The lawyer argued that his client was in delicto when the crime occurred, which affected the case.

Synonyms

in the act
vsin delicto
39 4.4

While someone is doing something wrong and someone else sees them

is a formal Latin legal term used in courts rather than general speech
in flagrante delicto
vsin delicto
  • NSFW
1 9.9

Being caught in the very act of doing something illegal or embarrassing with another person

is a formal Latin legal phrase used in courts not for vivid exposure

Antonyms

innocent
∞ 2.2

Not guilty of a crime or wrongdoing

Surface Forms

in delicto main

Morphology

in + delicto

The preposition 'in' is fully transparent, but 'delicto' is a Latin form not found in the provided dictionary entry; however it is cognate with Romance words like Spanish 'delito' and French 'délit' meaning 'crime', so a learner familiar with those cognates could infer 'in the crime' or 'in the act of committing a crime'. Because the phrase is a specialized Latin legal formula used in register-specific contexts and relies on knowledge of the Latin/root cognates rather than ordinary English composition, an average B1 learner would only partially be able to derive the precise legal sense.

Etymology

In delicto literally puts someone in a delicto, with 'delicto' meaning a crime or wrong. That's why we use it to say someone was caught 'in the act of committing a crime'.