Definition of "caught in the act" [caught in the act]

• To be found doing something that you weren't supposed to be doing, while you're doing it. (verb)

Wiktionary.org : Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

• "Wright had been caught in the act of raping Elizabeth Gregory, a ten-year-old Queensborough girl."
• "Frequently, those men caught in the act of tank-hunting were shot down by the Russian riflemen whose prime task at that moment was just that."
• "Alexander, caught in the act and unwilling to challenge his father so soon after his return from exile, admitted he had behaved imprudently."