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.
He parked his vehicle to stop Malone from getting away and tried to apprehend him.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Los Alamitos police investigators did not immediately respond to questions from The Times about why it took six months to apprehend Childers.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2026
As of this writing, the FBI has yet to apprehend a suspect.
From Slate • Dec. 18, 2025
“We’ll do everything to apprehend the perpetrators of these acts,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 18, 2025
For a little while Emma persevered in her silence; but beginning to apprehend the bewitching flattery of that letter might be too powerful, she thought it best to say,
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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.
