Related to word: catch
Phrasal Verb
to place someone in a challenging position
The complexity of issues during the meeting caught him out, placing him in a challenging position where he couldn't provide a satisfactory answer.
Faced with the dilemma, he felt puzzled, which caught him out in front of his colleagues.
His poor handling of high-pressure situations caught him out, placing unnecessary stress on the team.
to deceive someone into making an error
He tried to catch her out with exposed problems, but she cleverly avoided the traps, making him make the error instead.
His scheme didn't work because she easily saw through his intentions and wasn't deceived into making a mistake.
He set a trap to catch her out, but she ended up exposing his scheme instead.
to demonstrate that a person is in the wrong
His lies were caught out completely because she uncovered the evidence and demonstrated that he was in the wrong.
When he tried to change his answer, the teacher quickly caught him out.
The investigation caught out the hidden flaws in the water heater, demonstrating the manufacturer's wrongdoings.