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

With the entire scheme laid out and the staff caught red-handed, the district threatens to suspend any teacher taking bribes. —Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025

There’s no trophy for stopping an attack, no dramatic movie moment where an attacker is caught red-handed. —Shahar Man, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025

The moment a man was caught red-handed trying on his wife's clothes has gone viral on TikTok, racking up over 41 million views. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025

Such individuals often avoid taking personal responsibility at all costs, even when caught red-handed. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025

Racking up over 108,000 views, the clip shows the moment a tuxedo cat called Bob was caught red-handed hanging out inside the reptiles' enclosure. —Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025

The 81-year-old Burke, caught red-handed shaking down businesses needing city permits and approvals, got the same two-year penalty that Menendez is seeking. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2025

Bell shared the video of Shepard getting caught red-handed on her Instagram story as the actor was locked in on the action from Ford Field, where the Lions pummeled the Vikings to take the #1 seed in the NFC. —Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 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 Dec. 2024

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