catch in

catch (someone or something) in (something)

1. To physically ensnare or capture someone in something, such as a trap. After catching that raccoon in a trap, we set him free far from our house. What am I supposed to catch this cricket in, a sock? There's nothing but laundry down here! Well, the first step in Trap-Neuter-Return is to catch the feral cats in live-traps.

2. To see, and perhaps apprehend, someone in the act of doing something (often something nefarious). I can't believe I caught my sweet little girl in a lie! The robbers were arrested when the police caught them in the act of looting another house. I don't know how the authorities haven't caught Rich in this scheme yet—he's a terrible so-called "businessman"!

See also: catch

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

catch someone or something in something

to trap someone or something in something. We caught David in the snare by accident. My platoon was caught in an enemy ambush.

See also: catch

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.