sequester

American  

[si-kwes-ter] / sɪˈkwɛs tər /

verb (used with object)

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

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

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”

Example Sentences

"Forests globally currently sequester about one-third of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions," said Medlyn.

From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026

The wetlands ringing a beaver pond sequester carbon and clean the water, filtering out pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2025

"At maturity, these plants will shade the creek and keep water temperatures down, not to mention sequester carbon from the atmosphere."

From Salon • Aug. 3, 2024

Working with Valerie Kickhoefer in Rome’s lab, the group then found that the drug-resistant cancer cells generated many more vaults than nonresistant ones, suggesting the structures might sequester or expel chemotherapies.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 6, 2024

Whenever he returned to Brooklyn to prepare for the next tournament or match, he tended to sequester himself in his apartment.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• cloister
• close off
• insulate
• segregate