confiscate

American  

[kon-fuh-skeyt, kuhn-fis-kit] / ˈkɒn fəˌskeɪt, kənˈfɪs kɪt /

verb (used with object)

confiscated, confiscating

1. to seize as forfeited to the public domain; appropriate, by way of penalty, for public use.

2. to seize by or as if by authority; appropriate summarily.

   The border guards confiscated our movie cameras.

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adjective

1. seized or appropriated, as for public use.

confiscate British  

/ ˈkɒnfɪˌskeɪt /

verb

1. to seize (property), esp for public use and esp by way of a penalty

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adjective

1. seized or confiscated; forfeit

2. having lost or been deprived of property through confiscation

Other Word Forms

• confiscatable adjective
• confiscation noun
• confiscator noun
• reconfiscate verb (used with object)
• unconfiscated adjective

Etymology

Origin of confiscate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin confiscātus “seized,” past participle of confiscāre “to seize for the public treasury,” equivalent to con- con- + fisc(us) “basket, moneybag, public treasury” ( fiscal ) + -āre, verb infinitive suffix

Example Sentences

However her mother Najwa told us that Israeli officials confiscated much of what they'd been given - nine of their 12 cans were taken.

From BBC

Cars, forklifts and a truck were also confiscated.

From Barron's

At least one tanker has left Venezuela since that ship, the Skipper, was confiscated, but it was carrying fuel oil, not the more valuable crude.

From The Wall Street Journal

The ship was several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka when the operatives boarded it and confiscated the cargo before letting the vessel proceed, the officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal

At Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield, the approach taken by staff remains to ask children to keep phones in their bags and confiscate them if the rule is broken.

From BBC

Related Words

• appropriate
• expropriate
• impound