to catch out
11
6.3
- phrasal verb
- /kæʧ aʊt/
:
pillar
- I knew they had books in England, but I just didn't want to be caught out.
- get caught out
- want to be caught out
- embarrassed to be caught out
There are people on Instagram and I caught someone out myself actually.
- There are people on Instagram and I caught someone out myself actually.
- But rage is felt because they've been caught out.
- Please do like it, comment, share it, tell other people about it so they don't get caught out by these scammers.
- What he built is just unbelievable and he still got caught out sending a Dick pic to his mistress.
- And sometimes students ask questions just to try and catch a teacher out or to try and disrupt a class.
- Well, they can't leave their house, so because they'll get caught for truancy if they get caught out walking around, I got the free pass.
- And you see this every year, people that get caught out in the, in, in the, in the wilderness and they perish out there.
- So how exactly can the defence attempt to argue against video evidence viewed by millions which clearly shows that Stevie Wonder got caught out here?
- What's that feeling like knowing you got caught out, knowing that you're not in the best of health?
Examples
-
Look who I caught out in the parking lot!
-
And now you've been caught out, you're trying to drag Trife back into this.
-
Many teachers still think it is necessary to set questions that could potentially 'catch them out'...
Blog text (4) -
Make sure you know your stuff, because conferences are one place where you will get caught out.
Blog text (33) -
And sometimes students ask questions just to try and catch a teacher out or to try and disrupt a class.
-
"Yes," he admitted, as if he'd been caught out.
Fiction book (1990) -
CEOs get caught out all the time with their pants down, and nothing happens.
Blog text (33) -
I never thought I'd be caught out by our postman.
-
We don't want to be caught out here after nightfall.
-
The teacher was quick to catch out any student who tried to cheat during the exam.
Synonyms
478
1.0
To make secret information known to other people
398
1.1
To discover and show that someone has done something wrong
342
4.1
Reveal hidden facts or bad actions to people
243
3.5
Reveal secret facts to the public
37
5.1
To tell the authorities or the public about wrongdoing
9
4.6
Discovered while doing something wrong or illegal
5
3.7
Someone finds a person while they are doing something wrong
Antonyms
How Exposed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to expose someone by discovering a mistake' is largely built from 'catch' (to notice/capture) plus the particle 'out' (to expose/reveal), so the basic idea is derivable from the parts. However, the specific phrasal-verb usage ('catch someone out' = find them in an error or wrongdoing) relies on the particle meaning and collocational pattern that may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Catch out may come from the image of surprising or trapping someone who thinks they are safe: you catch them out in the open or in a trap so their error shows. So, to catch someone out means 'to expose a mistake or misdeed'.