catch out

1. 1.

   trap; especially in an error or in a reprehensible act

   “He was caught out”

   “She was found out when she tried to cash the stolen checks”

   Synonymsfind out

   Broaderdetect

Questions about catch out

What does catch out mean?

catch out means "trap; especially in an error or in a reprehensible act".

What is another word for catch out?

Close synonyms include find out. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is catch out a common word?

catch out is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.