catch in the act


catch (one) in the act

To see, and perhaps apprehend, someone as they are doing something (often something nefarious). The police caught the robbers in the act of ransacking another house. I suspected that my friend was stealing money from me, and then I caught her in the act.See also: act, catch

catch someone in the act (of doing something)

to discover someone doing a [bad] deed at the very moment when the deed is being done. I caught her in the act of stealing the coat. He was caught in the act of taking money from the cash box.See also: act, catch

catch in the act

see under catch red-handed. See also: act, catch