- catch someone in the act
- catch (someone) in the act
to discover someone doing something wrong.
I was trying to clear up the mess on the carpet before anyone noticed it, but Isobel came in and caught me in the act.
New idioms dictionary. 2014.
catch someone in the act
Look at other dictionaries:
catch someone in the act — To come upon someone in the process of doing something they should not be doing • • • Main Entry: ↑act * * * I usu. be caught in the act surprise someone in the process of doing something wrong the thieves were caught in the act II see act … Useful english dictionary
catch someone in the act (of doing something) — phrase to find someone and interrupt them when they are doing something wrong He denies all guilt, even though he was caught in the act. Thesaurus: to notice or recognize something or someonesynonym Main entry: act … Useful english dictionary
catch someone in the act — catch a person in the process of doing something (usually something wrong) … English contemporary dictionary
catch in the act — catch (someone) in the act to discover someone doing something wrong. I was trying to clear up the mess on the carpet before anyone noticed it, but Isobel came in and caught me in the act … New idioms dictionary
catch — catch1 [ kætʃ ] (past tense and past participle caught [ kɔt ] ) verb *** ▸ 1 stop and hold something/someone ▸ 2 stop someone escaping ▸ 3 find and arrest ▸ 4 (hunt and) stop animal ▸ 5 get on public vehicle ▸ 6 discover someone doing something… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
catch — I UK [kætʃ] / US verb Word forms catch : present tense I/you/we/they catch he/she/it catches present participle catching past tense caught UK [kɔːt] / US [kɔt] past participle caught *** 1) [intransitive/transitive] to stop and hold something… … English dictionary
act — act1 [ ækt ] noun *** ▸ 1 single thing someone does ▸ 2 law ▸ 3 part of play, etc. ▸ 4 performance ▸ 5 behavior hiding truth ▸ + PHRASES 1. ) count a single thing that someone does: act of violence/vandalism/terrorism/kindness/bravery/desperation … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
act — [[t]æ̱kt[/t]] ♦ acts, acting, acted 1) VERB When you act, you do something for a particular purpose. The deaths occurred when police acted to stop widespread looting and vandalism... [V adv/prep] I have no reason to doubt that the bank acted… … English dictionary
act */*/*/ — I UK [ækt] / US noun Word forms act : singular act plural acts 1) [countable] a single thing that someone does act of violence/vandalism/terrorism/kindness/bravery/desperation etc: No act of kindness is ever wasted. We strongly condemn any act of … English dictionary
catch (someone) dead — {v. phr.}, {informal} To see or hear (someone) in an embarrassing act or place at any time. Used in the negative usually in the passive. * /You won t catch Bill dead taking his sister to the movies./ * /John wouldn t be caught dead in the necktie … Dictionary of American idioms
