red-handed

adverb or adjective

red-hand·​ed ˈred-ˈhan-dəd 

: in the act of committing a crime or misdeed

caught red-handed

Examples of red-handed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The white-shoe law firm got caught red-handed. — Max Raskin, Washington Post, 19 May 2026

Aggie tries to sneak out, but Erika catches her red-handed. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025

The referee caught her red-handed, and threw B-Fab out of the match. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026

Authors deserve much more from a company that got caught red-handed stealing millions of books. — James Folta, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for red-handed

• backhanded
• commanded
• demanded
• disbanded
• expanded
• misbranded
• remanded
• unbranded
• banded
• branded
• candid
• handed

Kids Definition

red-handed

adverb or adjective

red-hand·​ed

ˈred-ˈhan-dəd

: in the act of doing something wrong