dragnet
Americannoun
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a net to be drawn along the bottom of a river, pond, etc., or along the ground, to catch fish, small game, etc.
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a system or network for finding or catching someone, as a criminal wanted by the police.
noun
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a heavy or weighted net used to scour the bottom of a pond, river, etc, as when searching for something
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any system of coordinated efforts by police forces to track down wanted persons
Etymology
Origin of dragnet
Middle English word dating back to 1535–45; see origin at drag, net 1, dray
Explanation
If you suddenly start noticing police officers around every corner, you might be watching a dragnet in progress. A dragnet is a coordinated attempt to catch a criminal. Dragnet originally referred to a kind of net for catching fish. It can now also indicate a less literal type of net: one that catches crooks. Police may use a dragnet if they know a wanted criminal is in a certain neighborhood. When cops set up a dragnet, they may call in extra officers, fence off areas from civilians, and arm themselves heavily. This word became famous because of the TV show Dragnet, which featured Sergeant Joe Friday.
Vocabulary lists containing dragnet
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Spies
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He sold his first script, The House in the Sea, in 1953 and it was filmed as Highway Dragnet the following year with Corman being credited as co-producer.
From BBC • May 12, 2024
That "Dragnet" pep talk, however, isn't one of them.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2024
The owner, Joy Ghigliotti, takes pride in selling hard-to-find items like a life-size Yoda that was part of a Pepsi promotion and a Dragnet board game from 1955.
From New York Times • May 5, 2022
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hesseman made a name for himself with various hippie roles in other projects such as Richard Lester’s "Petulia" and on NBC’s "Dragnet."
From Fox News • Jan. 30, 2022
Very specifically, the Rapping Pope would be Pep Streebek, the character played by Tom Hanks in the 1987 film Dragnet.
From The Guardian • May 17, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
