arrest

[ uh-rest ]

/ əˈrɛst /

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See synonyms for: arrest / arrested / arresting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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

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.

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.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR arrest

1 apprehend.

2 secure, rivet, occupy.

3 stay.

5 detention, apprehension, imprisonment.

7 stoppage, halt, stay, check.

See synonyms for arrest on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about arrest

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

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 FROM arrest

ar·rest·a·ble, adjectivear·rest·ment, nounpost·ar·rest, adjectivepre·ar·rest, verb (used with object)

pre·ar·rest·ment, nounre·ar·rest, verb (used with object), nounun·ar·rest·a·ble, adjectiveun·ar·rest·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use arrest in a sentence

Meanwhile, Hankison is also being sued by a man who says Hankison harasses suspects with unnecessary arrests and by planting drugs on them.
The policing reforms in the Breonna Taylor settlement, explained|Fabiola Cineas|September 17, 2020|Vox
In the wake of the arrest of four employees of San Francisco-based startup PandaDoc, the tech industry in Belarus has rallied support for the company and the pro-democracy movement in the country.
Belarus tech industry rallies around arrested PandaDoc colleagues in new video|Mike Butcher|September 11, 2020|TechCrunch
He is later sentenced to a reduced 10 years in prison because he cooperated with the FBI after his arrest.
A brief history of US-China espionage entanglements|Konstantin Kakaes|September 3, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Instead, the employee called the FBI, leading to the arrest of one of the hackers this week, according to newly unsealed court documents.
The FBI broke up a Russian hacker plot to extort millions from Tesla|Aaron Pressman|August 28, 2020|Fortune

The press conference was the first time she has faced local media since the arrest last Monday of media tycoon Jimmy Lai under the national security legislation.
U.S. sanctions mean Hong Kong’s leader is having trouble using her credit card|Claire Zillman, reporter|August 18, 2020|Fortune
Asia Bibi, as she is known, was arrested and sentenced to death.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Chérif was arrested in Paris in January 2005 as he was about to board a plane to Damascus along with a man named Thamer Bouchnak.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But consider how citizens here in the States are now being arrested for posting threatening messages aimed at police on Facebook.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And only 1.6 percent of the cases led to someone being arrested and sentenced.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When the man threatened to report him for harassment to the NOPD, Farrell arrested him.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Some were even re-arrested for the same nefarious purpose, and the daily papers published their names on each occasion.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Were you ever arrested, having in your custody another man's cash, and would rather go to gaol, than break it?
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
He recounts at much length the reasons for which he supposes the governor arrested him.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
In running over many words, the intellect might be arrested by chance.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
He was at once arrested, and on October 13th tried by court martial, condemned to death, and executed a few hours later.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for arrest

arrest

/ (əˈrɛst) /

verb (tr)

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)

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

can't get arrested informal (of a performer) is unrecognized and unsuccessfulhe 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 authorityunder arrest

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

the stopping or sudden cessation of motion of somethinga cardiac arrest

Word Origin for arrest

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.

arrest

OTHER WORDS FOR arrest

Idioms about arrest

Origin of arrest

synonym study for arrest

OTHER WORDS FROM arrest

Words related to arrest

How to use arrest in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for arrest

Word Origin for arrest

Other Idioms and Phrases with arrest