confiscate

American  

[kon-fuh-skeyt, kuhn-fis-kit] / ˈkɒn fəˌskeɪt, kənˈfɪs kɪt /

verb (used with object)

confiscated, confiscating

1. to seize as forfeited to the public domain; appropriate, by way of penalty, for public use.

2. to seize by or as if by authority; appropriate summarily.

   The border guards confiscated our movie cameras.

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adjective

1. seized or appropriated, as for public use.

confiscate British  

/ ˈkɒnfɪˌskeɪt /

verb

1. to seize (property), esp for public use and esp by way of a penalty

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adjective

1. seized or confiscated; forfeit

2. having lost or been deprived of property through confiscation

Other Word Forms

• confiscatable adjective
• confiscation noun
• confiscator noun
• reconfiscate verb (used with object)
• unconfiscated adjective

Etymology

Origin of confiscate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin confiscātus “seized,” past participle of confiscāre “to seize for the public treasury,” equivalent to con- con- + fisc(us) “basket, moneybag, public treasury” ( fiscal ) + -āre, verb infinitive suffix

Example Sentences

Police confiscated five cars and 42 mobile phones during the operation and froze 125 accounts at 16 banks.

From Barron's

Figures obtained by the BBC show more than 57 million doses of unauthorised medication have been confiscated in the UK by government agencies in the last five years.

From BBC

The school may use the dashboard to identify rule-breakers in the future, but for now, teachers and staff are simply confiscating phones on sight, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Following the natural disaster, local law enforcement was assigned the task of confiscating guns, many of which officers say were stolen or found in abandoned homes.

From Salon

Billions of dollars' worth of assets have been confiscated by the Russian state since 2022, including those belonging to Western firms like French dairy group Danone and German energy firm Uniper.

From Barron's

Related Words

• appropriate
• expropriate
• impound