red-handed

[red-han-did]

adjective

1. in the very act of a crime, wrongdoing, etc., or in possession of self-incriminating evidence.

   They caught him red-handed dipping into the till.

red-handed

adjective

1. (postpositive) in the act of committing a crime or doing something wrong or shameful (esp in the phrase catch red-handed )

Other Word Forms

• red-handedness noun
• red-handedly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of red-handed¹

First recorded in 1810–20

Word History and Origins

Origin of red-handed¹

C19 (earlier, C15 red hand )