in the act

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in the act

1. (idiomatic) In the process of doing something considered criminal or otherwise wrong; used to emphasize the eye-witness evidence.

   She denied it but she had been spotted in the act.

   He was caught in the act in the store after hours.

   He was caught in the act of climbing out the window.

• Most commonly used in forms of the phrase catch in the act, or similar.

• red-handed
• in flagrante delicto