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]
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2
Performing sexual intercourse, as in Her father caught them in the act. [Late 1500s]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Examples from the Web for in the act
Contemporary Examples
The questions begin to arise from his in-the-act sex photographs, sometimes with multiple partners.
