catch out
Definition
- Verb:
- To detect or expose someone in a mistake, deception, or wrongdoing, often by tricking them or asking a revealing question.
- To discover that someone is ignorant of something or has been acting deceptively.
Usage and Examples
- Verb:
- The journalist's clever question caught out the politician, who didn't know the basic facts.
- The teacher tried to catch the students out with a surprise quiz on the reading.
- His alibi fell apart when the detective caught him out on the timeline.
Advanced Usage
- Often used in passive voice: "to be caught out."
- He was caught out lying about his qualifications on his resume.
- Commonly used with a direct object (the person) and sometimes followed by a prepositional phrase (e.g., "in a lie," "by a question").
- The system is designed to catch out fraudulent applications.
Variants and Related Words
- Catch (verb): To capture or discover. "Catch out" is a specific phrasal verb derived from this.
- Found out (phrasal verb): A close synonym meaning to discover a deceit or secret.
Synonyms
- Expose: To reveal the true, often negative, nature of someone or something.
- Trap: To catch someone in a mistake or trick, often by deliberate design.
- Unmask: To reveal the true identity or nature of someone who is disguised or deceptive.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Catch on: To understand or become popular.
- I finally caught on to how the software works.
- Catch up: To reach someone who is ahead or to learn the latest news.
- I need to catch up on my emails.
Related Idioms
- Catch red-handed: To discover someone in the act of doing something wrong.
- The security guard caught the thief red-handed.
- Catch off guard: To surprise someone, making them unprepared to respond effectively.
- The difficult question caught the speaker off guard.
Verb
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trap; especially in an error or in a reprehensible act
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He was caught out
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She was found out when she tried to cash the stolen checks
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