catch someone at their own game

A form of beat someone at their own game — To successfully use someone's methods and strategies against them.

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Meanings

verbcatch someone at their own game (third-person singular simple present catches someone at their own game, present participle catching someone at their own game, simple past and past participle caught someone at their own game)

present singular third person catches someone at their own game · participle present catching someone at their own game · participle past caught someone at their own game · past caught someone at their own game

  1. alternativeAlternative form of beat someone at their own game.

    So far, Molly says she has sent the pills out to between 50 and 100 women. Sometimes she receives emails that seem like “suspicious pleas”—messages that sound little too-scripted, like the person behind the keyboard is playing a role to catch Molly at her own game.

    2014 June 27, Erica Hellerstein, “The Rise of the DIY Abortion in Texas”, in The Atlantic
Cite this entry
APA

catch someone at their own game. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catch%20someone%20at%20their%20own%20game

MLA

“catch someone at their own game.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catch%20someone%20at%20their%20own%20game. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “catch someone at their own game,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catch%20someone%20at%20their%20own%20game.

Source: catch someone at their own game on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.