red-handed

adverb or adjective

red-hand·​ed ˈred-ˈhan-dəd How to pronounce red-handed (audio)
: in the act of committing a crime or misdeed
caught red-handed

Examples of red-handed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In June 2023, Priester was charged with two counts of grand larceny for allegedly stripping flagpoles in front of several Riverhead, N.Y., businesses — after two weeks of mysterious flag thefts — and was caught red-handed with the flagpole hooks. Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025 Meta caught about 135,000 of them sexualizing children red-handed. Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2025 And, last year, a cat was caught red-handed after coming home with the neighbor's chicken dinner in tow. Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025 After he's caught red-handed, the pilot goes to confront him when the captain stabs him before throwing him overboard. Esther Kang, People.com, 26 June 2025 Hungry and miserable, she is caught red-handed robbing someone’s apartment, sparking a taste for kleptomania. Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 6 May 2025 Catching yourself red-handed is the first step to focus on what’s real. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of red-handed was in 1819

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Cite this Entry

“Red-handed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red-handed. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

red-handed

adverb or adjective
red-hand·​ed
ˈred-ˈhan-dəd
: in the act of doing something wrong

More from Merriam-Webster on red-handed

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