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definitions

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]

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 of in the act

  • The questions begin to arise from his in-the-act sex photographs, sometimes with multiple partners.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Larry Clark's XXX Exhibit

    Eric Pape

    October 8, 2010