apprehend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to take into custody; arrest by legal warrant or authority.
The police apprehended the burglars.
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to grasp the meaning of; understand, especially intuitively; perceive.
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to expect with anxiety, suspicion, or fear; anticipate.
apprehending violence.
verb (used without object)
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to understand.
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to be apprehensive, suspicious, or fearful; fear.
verb
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(tr) to arrest and escort into custody; seize
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to perceive or grasp mentally; understand
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(tr) to await with fear or anxiety; dread
Other Word Forms
- apprehender noun
- reapprehend verb
- unapprehended adjective
- unapprehending adjective
Etymology
Origin of apprehend
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English apprehenden, from Latin apprehendere “to grasp,” from ap- ap- 1 + prehendere “to seize” (from pre-, prae- pre- + -hendere “to grasp”)
Explanation
To apprehend is to capture or arrest, as when the police try to apprehend criminals and bring them to justice. You also apprehend a concept when you understand it, grasping or capturing its meaning. The verb apprehend has remained much the same since the original Latin, both in form and meaning. It comes from apprehendere, "to grasp or seize." The word came to refer to learning — "grasping or seizing with the mind" — but then came to mean "seize in the name of the law" or "arrest" around the 1540s, a meaning that remains to this day. The word can also be used to suggest an anxious feeling about something about to happen.
Vocabulary lists containing apprehend
Romeo and Juliet
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"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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"Sorry, Wrong Number," Vocabulary from the play
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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.
Whenever officers approached to apprehend the dealer or break up his production facility, the neighbors would blow whistles, shout insults, block streets and otherwise try to thwart the mission.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
Waltz added that the US had carried out a "surgical law enforcement operation" to apprehend Maduro, whom he is also referred to as a "fugitive from justice".
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026
As of this writing, the FBI has yet to apprehend a suspect.
From Slate • Dec. 18, 2025
The Associated Press reported the designation empowering U.S. troops to apprehend immigrants and others accused of trespassing on Army, Air Force or Navy bases, and authorizing additional criminal charges that can mean prison time.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
The few residents not too busy fighting to notice gasped or tried to apprehend Mr. Pepperhorn, but he already had his own security detail pushing them back.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
