sequester

American  

[si-kwes-ter] / sɪˈkwɛs tər /

verb (used with object)

sequesters, present (3rd person singular) sequestered, past participle, past sequestering present participle

1. to remove or withdraw into solitude or retirement; seclude.

2. to remove or separate; banish; exile.

3. to keep apart from others; segregate or isolate.

   The jury was sequestered until a verdict was reached.

4. Law. to remove (property) temporarily from the possession of the owner; seize and hold, as the property and income of a debtor, until legal claims are satisfied.

5. International Law. to requisition, hold, and control (enemy property).

6. to trap (a chemical in the atmosphere or environment) and isolate it in a natural or artificial storage area.

   There are processes to sequester carbon from a power plant's exhaust gases.

   Plants can sequester toxins and store them in their tissues.

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noun

1. an act or instance of sequestering; separation; isolation.

2. sequestration.

   domestic programs starved for cash by the federal sequester.

sequester British  

/ sɪˈkwɛstə /

verb

1. to remove or separate

2. (usually passive) to retire into seclusion

3. law to take (property) temporarily out of the possession of its owner, esp until the claims of creditors are satisfied or a court order is complied with

4. international law to requisition or appropriate (enemy property)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsequestered
  adjective
• unsequestered
  adjective
• sequestrable
  adjective
• self-sequestered
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have sequestered
  perfect
• has sequestered
  perfect 3rd person singular
• has been sequestering
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are sequestering
  progressive
• am sequestering
  progressive 1st person singular
• is sequestering
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been sequestering
  perfect progressive
• sequestering
  participle
• sequesters
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had sequestered
  perfect
• were sequestering
  progressive plural
• was sequestering
  progressive singular
• had been sequestering
  perfect progressive
• sequestered
  participle
• sequestered
  simple

Future

• will sequester
  simple
• will have sequestered
  perfect
• will have been sequestering
  perfect progressive
• will be sequestering
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of sequester

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sequestren, from Latin sequestrāre “to put in hands of a trustee,” derivative of sequester “trustee, depositary”

Explanation

The word sequester describes being kept away from others. If your sister tells you to stay out of the way so she can cook dinner for her new boyfriend, you might sequester yourself in your room. Legal types may be familiar with the word sequester since it’s often used in relation to a jury for an important trial. In that case, members of the jury are sequestered, meaning they aren't allowed to watch the news or read articles that could influence their judgment. However, sequester can describe anyone who is isolated or hidden away from others, like a pop star sequestered in a hotel room, protected from fans' mania below.

Example Sentences

Sequester could make census more expensive, commerce chief warns The 2010 census cost $13 billion, the costliest in U.S. history, but reforms could be delayed.

From Washington Post • May 31, 2013

Sequester 101 Hearing the awful words sequester and sequestration everywhere?

From Newsweek • Mar. 18, 2013

It’s as if moviegoers have taken a tip from the U.S. government Sequester and laid themselves off.

From Time • Mar. 3, 2013

Sequester to force Congress to fly commercial Hours before Maryland’s upset of Duke last Saturday, Evan Smotrycz stood on the Comcast Center court and scanned the emptiness.

From Washington Post • Feb. 23, 2013

Sequester is set to become the on 2013, yet this year’s buzzword lacks the figurative simplicity of last year’s.

From Time • Feb. 11, 2013

Related Words

• cloister
• close off
• insulate
• segregate