How to Use red-handed in a Sentence

red-handed

adverb or adjective
  • The white-shoe law firm got caught red-handed.
    — Max Raskin, Washington Post, 19 May 2026
  • Many of them were caught red-handed accepting bribes and sentenced to prison.
    — Daria Kaleniuk, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Aggie tries to sneak out, but Erika catches her red-handed.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
  • The referee caught her red-handed, and threw B-Fab out of the match.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
  • Authors deserve much more from a company that got caught red-handed stealing millions of books.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Some data brokers have been caught red-handed packaging large datasets and selling them directly to scammers for elder fraud.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026
  • What’s more, police say that 46-year-old Jose Sanchez took the picture just two weeks after he was caught red-handed at his job, taking a picture up a woman’s skirt.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Canada caught red-handed in Olympic qualifying sabotage against American athlete.
    — FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • Police say surveillance video caught the thieves red-handed, stealing three Kohl's gift cards worth $25 each, laundry detergent and four winter coats meant for children in need this holiday season.
    — CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
  • America’s Most Wanted, 1988–2021), caught criminals red-handed (To Catch a Predator, 2004–07), or otherwise examined the criminal justice system flooded television schedules in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'red-handed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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