arrest

American  

[uh-rest] / əˈrɛst /

verb (used with object)

• arrests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• arrested,
  past participle,  past
• arresting
  present participle

1. to seize (a person) by legal authority or warrant; take into custody.

   The police arrested the burglar.

   Synonyms:

   apprehend

2. to catch and hold; attract and fix; engage.

   The loud noise arrested our attention.

   Synonyms:

   occupy, rivet, secure

3. to check the course of; stop; slow down.

   to arrest progress.

   Synonyms:

   stay

4. Medicine/Medical. to control or stop the active progress of (a disease).

   The new drug did not arrest the cancer.

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noun

• arrests
  plural

1. the taking of a person into legal custody, as by officers of the law.

   Synonyms:

   imprisonment, apprehension, detention

2. any seizure or taking by force.

3. an act of stopping or the state of being stopped.

   the arrest of tooth decay.

   Synonyms:

   check, stay, halt, stoppage

4. Machinery. any device for stopping machinery; stop.

idioms

1. under arrest, in custody of the police or other legal authorities.

   They placed the suspect under arrest at the scene of the crime.

arrest British  

/ əˈrɛst /

verb

1. to deprive (a person) of liberty by taking him into custody, esp under lawful authority

2. to seize (a ship) under lawful authority

3. to slow or stop the development or progress of (a disease, growth, etc)

4. to catch and hold (one's attention, sight, etc)

5. law to stay proceedings after a verdict, on the grounds of error or possible error

6. informal (of a performer) is unrecognized and unsuccessful

   he can't get arrested here but is a megastar in the States

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noun

1. the act of taking a person into custody, esp under lawful authority

2. the act of seizing and holding a ship under lawful authority

3. the state of being held, esp under lawful authority

   under arrest

4. Also called: arrestation. the slowing or stopping of the development or progress of something

5. the stopping or sudden cessation of motion of something

   a cardiac arrest

arrest More Idioms  

1. see under arrest.

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Usage

What does arrest mean? To arrest someone is to seize them or take them into custody with authority. Related to that, an arrest is the act of police or other law enforcement officials detaining someone suspected of committing a crime when there is probable cause. Arrest can also more generally mean to attract and engage, such as with attention or sight. For example, a loud clap of thunder might arrest your attention for a moment, if you weren’t expecting it. Arrest also means to slow or stop, such as with progress or growth. You might, for example, arrest the growth of a plant by keeping it in the dark while continuing to water it. Such an arrest could lead the plant to die. Example: You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit grand theft auto.

Synonym Usage

See stop.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• arrestment
  noun
• prearrestment
  noun
• prearrest
  verb (used with object)
• rearrest
  verb (used with object)
• arrestable
  adjective
• postarrest
  adjective
• unarrestable
  adjective
• unarrested
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• arrests
  plural

Participles

• arresting
  present
• arrested
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• arrest
  simple
• arrests
  simple
• have arrested
  perfect
• has arrested
  perfect
• am arresting
  progressive
• are arresting
  progressive
• is arresting
  progressive
• have been arresting
  perfect progressive
• has been arresting
  perfect progressive

Past

• arrested
  simple
• had arrested
  perfect
• was arresting
  progressive
• were arresting
  progressive
• had been arresting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will arrest
  simple
• will have arrested
  perfect
• will be arresting
  progressive
• will have been arresting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of arrest

1275–1325; (v.) Middle English aresten < Anglo-French, Middle French arester, < Vulgar Latin *arrestāre to stop ( see ar-, rest ²); (noun) Middle English arest ( e ) < Anglo-French, Old French, noun derivative of v.

Explanation

To arrest someone is to put them in custody for breaking the law. If you face arrest, your criminal activities will be "at rest" because you'll be behind bars, or in jail. Arrest is both a noun and a verb. When you place a person "under arrest," you take them into custody and hold them so they can’t continue breaking the law. A police officer or other agent of the law will arrest a person often by physically taking them away. In addition to the legal meaning, arrest means "stop." To arrest motion is to stop a person or thing from moving.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arrest arrests arrested arresting

Last month, her lawyer requested she be placed under house arrest, saying that she suffers from heart problems for which her prison conditions do not provide adequate care.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Reached by phone, Ding declined to speak about the arrest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

The arrest was carried out on his 66th birthday and led to him being taken to Aylsham police station.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Flores' lawyer Mark Donnelly suggested she be placed under house arrest with 24-hour armed surveillance, an electronic monitoring bracelet and that her passport be confiscated.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

She refused the relative safety and comfort of house arrest with a German family and chose to go to prison instead.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

A new study from USC finds that emergency room visits from patients born outside of the U.S. fell by more than 20% in the first four weeks after arrests escalated in June 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

Since then, there have been 6,409 arrests for criminal offenses related to US military personnel, according to Okinawa Prefectural Government.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Cornell’s roughly 50 campus police officers are able to carry weapons and make arrests on university property.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Ortiz had several prior arrests in her home state, The Times has reported.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

I should demand payment for helping with the arrests.

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson

The alleged foreign agent, Wanying Zhang, a 34-year-old resident of Irvine, Calif., was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport before she could board a flight to Shanghai, U.S. authorities said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

More than 5,000 people, 85 percent of them minors, have been arrested.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Among the 5,060 people arrested since the start of the movement, 87% were minors and 13% were adults, according to France's justice ministry, external.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

The FBI on Sunday arrested a 34-year-old woman trying to board a flight to China at Los Angeles International Airport.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The day after Mom was arrested, Skye called—yes, actually called, not texted—to check on me.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

If only more of the Armory Show had the drama of these arresting dances.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

It was a world that Richard Kerbaj brings back into lively and arresting focus in “The Defector.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

In Europe and elsewhere, co-ordinated, multi-national police and customs operations take place regularly, seizing large numbers of stolen antiquities and arresting some of the traffickers.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

The lawyers asked that Frimpong bar immigration agents from arresting people in the district unless they’ve conducted an escape risk analysis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Skulason is a gentle and intense man with a gravitas that is arresting.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• apprehend
• capture
• catch
• detain
• imprison
• incarcerate
• jail
• round up
• seize