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
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.
The interior ministry statement said in a statement translated from Arabic: "Security forces immediately launched an operation to apprehend the perpetrators, acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations, tracking the kidnappers' movements."
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
“At this time, the Miami Gardens Police Department is actively working with the United States Marshals’ Fugitive Task Force to locate and apprehend Mr. Davis,” Jeanty said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026
ICE agents were able to apprehend Mr. Flores-Ruiz as he tried to flee on foot in the street outside the courthouse.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025
As of this writing, the FBI has yet to apprehend a suspect.
From Slate • Dec. 18, 2025
At first, I thought they had been sent out to calm the crowd—or was it to apprehend would-be play pirates?
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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.
