house arrest

American

noun

confinement of an arrested person to their residence or to a public place, such as a hospital, instead of in a jail.

He was under house arrest until the day of his trial.

house arrest British

noun

confinement to one's own home

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

house arrest Cultural

Forcible detention in one's house rather than in a prison. House arrest is used by some nations as a way to silence political dissent without the elaborate trials and criminal proceedings that would bring bad publicity.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

house arrests

plural

Etymology

Origin of house arrest

First recorded in 1935–40

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.

See Examples For:

house arrest

A few months ago, she was moved to house arrest on what the government said were humanitarian grounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

If it was, it could constitute a "serious violation" of the conditions of his house arrest, said justice Alexandre de Moraes.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Moraes had also previously denied Milei permission to visit the former president while he was under house arrest in Brasilia.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Two months ago, the junta announced that she had been moved to house arrest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

But then, I reminded myself, I had too, in effect, under house arrest for the last two months.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023