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”)
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
Specialist officers also apprehended a 26-year-old man in Birmingham after a warrant for his arrest was issued by French authorities.
From BBC
Of the 32 apprehended, only two were convicted, Al-Saadi said, and they were little more than foot soldiers to masterminds of the operation who had already escaped.
From Los Angeles Times
A 23-year-old woman who was arrested at the same time has been charged with breaching an apprehended violence order but does not face any charges in connection with Baghsarian's death.
From BBC
In 2019, prosecutors brought charges using the minimum number of victims needed to apprehend Epstein in order to keep the case secret and avoid him fleeing, according to people familiar with the investigation.
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.
