arrest
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to seize (a person) by legal authority or warrant; take into custody.
The police arrested the burglar.
- Synonyms:
- apprehend
-
to catch and hold; attract and fix; engage.
The loud noise arrested our attention.
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to check the course of; stop; slow down.
to arrest progress.
- Synonyms:
- stay
-
Medicine/Medical. to control or stop the active progress of (a disease).
The new drug did not arrest the cancer.
noun
-
the taking of a person into legal custody, as by officers of the law.
- Synonyms:
- imprisonment, apprehension, detention
-
any seizure or taking by force.
-
an act of stopping or the state of being stopped.
the arrest of tooth decay.
-
Machinery. any device for stopping machinery; stop.
idioms
verb
-
to deprive (a person) of liberty by taking him into custody, esp under lawful authority
-
to seize (a ship) under lawful authority
-
to slow or stop the development or progress of (a disease, growth, etc)
-
to catch and hold (one's attention, sight, etc)
-
law to stay proceedings after a verdict, on the grounds of error or possible error
-
informal (of a performer) is unrecognized and unsuccessful
he can't get arrested here but is a megastar in the States
noun
-
the act of taking a person into custody, esp under lawful authority
-
the act of seizing and holding a ship under lawful authority
-
the state of being held, esp under lawful authority
under arrest
-
Also called: arrestation. the slowing or stopping of the development or progress of something
-
the stopping or sudden cessation of motion of something
a cardiac arrest
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
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arrestmentnoun
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prearrestmentnoun
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prearrestverb (used with object)
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rearrestverb (used with object)
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arrestableadjective
-
postarrestadjective
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unarrestableadjective
-
unarrestedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
arrestsimple
-
arrestssimple
-
have arrestedperfect
-
has arrestedperfect
-
am arrestingprogressive
-
are arrestingprogressive
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is arrestingprogressive
-
have been arrestingperfect progressive
-
has been arrestingperfect progressive
Past
-
arrestedsimple
-
had arrestedperfect
-
was arrestingprogressive
-
were arrestingprogressive
-
had been arrestingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing arrest
Warm-up, List 1
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"Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad"
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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.
See Examples For:
“This arrest demonstrates that time does not erase accountability,” Wing Chau, U.S. marshal for the District of Rhode Island, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Aliyu's report of the incident to the police prompted what the commissioner described as an "intelligence-driven operation" that led to the arrest of the alleged ringleader and subsequently the other suspects.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Agents could follow people and arrest them after they left their cars, he explained, while stopping people inside moving vehicles could place officers in greater danger.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
A U.S. judge signed the arrest warrants Saturday, and U.S. marshals were able to locate the brothers through social media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
He only signaled to another guard—this one taller and older—who said, “Step aside, please, or we’ll have to arrest you. This is not a place to frivol with.”
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
In the 1940s and 1950s, rates of black arrests and incarceration were significantly lower than today, and black incomes and years of education rose at a faster clip than among whites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
A series of high-profile crashes and deaths involving e-bikes has prompted police and prosecutors to make arrests, seize bikes and file charges against riders and their parents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
A US Department of Justice spokesperson said the arrests were "pursuant to extradition proceedings".
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The arrests mark the latest chapter in a yearslong legal battle.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
“I don’t quite understand the need for all this secrecy. Don’t law enforcement agencies usually want to publicize big arrests? Aren’t smuggling busts public information?”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
No formal charges have yet been announced for those arrested.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Burke was only arrested three months ago, and murder cases often languish in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
McBride said the brothers visited Washington, D.C., just days before they were arrested, where they “exercised their constitutional rights by visiting the U.S. Capitol.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
She was arrested on July 4, and the government had a whole day to look into her and see who she was married to.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
She was also reluctant to have people arrested for no good reason.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to ostensibly form a joint effort in arresting the yen’s slide.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
He is protected by thousands of Indigenous supporters who have so far prevented police from arresting him.
From Barron's ● Jun. 20, 2026
Or they could simply be arresting abstractions in a sculpture that sits aesthetically between formal attraction and repulsion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
“Beauties” is more arresting on a number of levels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Unless, it suddenly occurred to me—and here was an arresting notion—unless persuading yourself that you are not confused is merely a cruel, early symptom of confusion.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
