arrest

[ uh-rest ]
See synonyms for: arrestarrestedarresting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to seize (a person) by legal authority or warrant; take into custody: The police arrested the burglar.

  2. to catch and hold; attract and fix; engage: The loud noise arrested our attention.

  1. to check the course of; stop; slow down: to arrest progress.

  2. Medicine/Medical. to control or stop the active progress of (a disease): The new drug did not arrest the cancer.

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

  2. any seizure or taking by force.

  1. an act of stopping or the state of being stopped: the arrest of tooth decay.

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

Idioms about arrest

  1. under arrest, in custody of the police or other legal authorities: They placed the suspect under arrest at the scene of the crime.

Origin of arrest

1
1275–1325; (v.) Middle English aresten<Anglo-French, Middle French arester,<Vulgar Latin *arrestāre to stop (see ar-, rest2); (noun) Middle English arest(e) <Anglo-French, Old French, noun derivative of v.

synonym study For arrest

3. See stop.

Other words for arrest

Other words from arrest

  • ar·rest·a·ble, adjective
  • ar·rest·ment, noun
  • post·ar·rest, adjective
  • pre·ar·rest, verb (used with object)
  • pre·ar·rest·ment, noun
  • re·ar·rest, verb (used with object), noun
  • un·ar·rest·a·ble, adjective
  • un·ar·rest·ed, adjective

Words Nearby arrest

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use arrest in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for arrest

arrest

/ (əˈrɛst) /


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

  2. to seize (a ship) under lawful authority

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

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

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

  4. can't get arrested informal (of a performer) is unrecognized and unsuccessful: he can't get arrested here but is a megastar in the States

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

  1. the state of being held, esp under lawful authority: under arrest

  2. Also called: arrestation (ˌærɛsˈteɪʃən) the slowing or stopping of the development or progress of something

  3. the stopping or sudden cessation of motion of something: a cardiac arrest

Origin of arrest

1
C14: from Old French arester, from Vulgar Latin arrestāre (unattested), from Latin ad at, to + restāre to stand firm, stop

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with arrest

arrest

see under arrest.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.