in the act

1. In the process of doing something. For example, The police caught the robber in the act , or I was in the act of closing the window . [Second half of 1600s]

2. Performing sexual intercourse, as in Her father caught them in the act . [Late 1500s]

Example Sentences

Several sources close to the trial have told the BBC that the CPS would not have made the decision to charge the pair unless it was confident that it had enough evidence to meet the threshold set in the Act.

From BBC

Mr Daulby's family, said he "lost his life in the act of courage to save others" and his final act "was one of profound courage and he will forever be remembered".

From BBC

“But I think I really just stopped him in the act. I caught him, and then he wasn’t able to do what he was planning on doing, which was my goal.”

From Los Angeles Times

In the film, a friend who discovers the pair's illicit relationship vomits when she catches them in the act.

From BBC

That these gendered and politicized expectation gaps around parenthood morph into gendered and politicized gaps in the act of parenting itself is borne out in other data.

From Slate