arrest
Americanverb (used with object)
-
arrests,
present (3rd person singular)
-
arrested,
past participle, past
-
arresting
present participle
-
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.
-
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
-
arrests
plural
-
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
-
prearrestmentnoun
-
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
-
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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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:
But then on Thursday, a felony arrest warrant was filed for Shrine for alleged violation of post-release community supervision, a type of supervised release similar to parole, in Contra Costa County.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
After pulling Garces Perez over, an agent told him he was under arrest.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
MP for Foyle, Colum Eastwood, welcomed Anderson's arrest and said "confidence has been damaged in the institutions involved".
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Agents sifted through hundreds of thousands of records seized during Kao’s arrest and found that many were consistent with his account of widespread influence peddling.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
With Booth dead, and his chief accomplices under arrest, awaiting trial, it was time to cash in.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
It has flagged multiple instances of misuse, including in some cases that led to arrests, the company said in its letter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The authors, Jason Robey of the University of Iowa and Michael Light of the University of Wisconsin, analyzed data on crimes, arrests and prison admissions between 2000 and 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
The officer is seen jumping out of the car after spotting the suspect and takes out his taser and arrests him.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
More than 250 arrests have been made and 84 operations have been carried out since the ORCs launch in 2024.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
For example, in one case, a sweep of one hundred buses resulted in only seven arrests.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
The suspect was arrested later at a hospital in the city of Ramallah, they said.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
The FBI alleges that from February 2022 until they were arrested, Love and Chan fraudulently solicited money from women in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Kao boosted Navatek’s annual revenue from $10 million around the time Loui sold him the company to almost $40 million when he was arrested in 2020.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
The defendant was arrested in September in connection with the police investigation.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
When he returned to Japan, he was charged with sheltering a political fugitive and arrested again.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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
Police officers can be seen handcuffing and arresting a man in video footage from OnScene.TV.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
The production is marked by a rare fluidity and ease, while at the same time bristling with energy and bright humor interspersed with moments of arresting, rich feeling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Designed by Ma Yansong, the new building in Los Angeles is a structure of arresting and unusual size and shape, but it becomes less impressive once you get inside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
His features are arresting, almost Illustrian, but his clothes and the dark shine of his eyes mark him as a Tribesman.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
