in the act
39
4.4
- idiom
:
en el acto
- The two would-be bandits... ...were caught in the act by a Good Samaritan... ...whose identity remains unknown.
- caught in the act
- engaged in the act
- in the act of creation
had some connection with the Silence power within, perhaps only in the act of creation, perhaps not in their private life,
- had some connection with the Silence power within, perhaps only in the act of creation, perhaps not in their private life,
- So if we look at soccer, the the biggest concussion risk in soccer is actually in the act of heading.
- And you were caught in the act right here.
- My life fills my days with things that I believe have impact and give me joy in the act of doing them.
- The sight of reflection in the act of beholding.
- The point is, just engaging in the act doesn't mean you're engaging in the acts that he likes, meaning the specifics.
- This is the thing about Alexander that is quite different from so many other methods you use it in the act of life.
Examples
-
Identifying the paparazzi and catching them in the act has been "a tough nut to crack," Dunn said.
Academic text (2013) -
And you were caught in the act right here.
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We need to catch him in the act.
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We're gonna have to catch these guys in the act.
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Did your father ever catch you in the act?
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You said we had to find the culprit, catch her in the act.
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We knew who he was but we just couldn't catch him in the act.
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I don't like being caught in the act any better than anyone else.
Fiction book (1994) -
Set up your webcam and you're gonna catch him in the act.
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They were surprised when they walked in and found their neighbors stealing flowers, catching them in the act.
Synonyms
5
3.7
Someone finds a person while they are doing something wrong
1
9.9
Being caught in the very act of doing something illegal or embarrassing with another person
Caught in the act of committing a crime
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'while doing something; caught in the process' is directly and transparently derived from 'in' (inside/during) + 'the' + 'act' (a deed or action), so a learner who knows the words can compose the sense. This preposition + article + noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English composition, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
In the act comes from the simple image of someone being caught in the middle of doing the act, like a thief with their hands on a stolen item. That's why the phrase means 'while doing something', often something wrong.