confiscate

American  

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

verb (used with object)

• confiscates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• confiscated,
  past participle,  past
• confiscating
  present participle

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• confiscating
  present
• confiscated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• confiscate
  simple
• confiscates
  simple
• have confiscated
  perfect
• has confiscated
  perfect
• am confiscating
  progressive
• are confiscating
  progressive
• is confiscating
  progressive
• have been confiscating
  perfect progressive
• has been confiscating
  perfect progressive

Past

• confiscated
  simple
• had confiscated
  perfect
• was confiscating
  progressive
• were confiscating
  progressive
• had been confiscating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will confiscate
  simple
• will have confiscated
  perfect
• will be confiscating
  progressive
• will have been confiscating
  perfect progressive

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” ( see fiscal) + -āre, verb infinitive suffix

Explanation

To confiscate means to take away temporarily for security or legal reasons. It implies an act by an authority upon one of less power. If you use your cell phone in class, the teacher might confiscate it for the day. Confiscate derives from the Latin confiscat, meaning "to store in a chest, or give to the treasury." In school, if the boys begin throwing pencils at each other, the teacher will confiscate them and "store” them in her desk. She’ll return them, however, when the boys need to take the test. That’s assuming they have not blinded each other beforehand.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confiscate confiscates confiscated confiscating

The lawsuit alleges that Sheriff Robert Luna failed to confiscate Giandomenico’s phone after learning of the photos and tried to conceal from Nancy Lemus that the images existed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

When that happens, there can be relatively little left to confiscate.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

School staff now confiscate homemade baked goods and suspicious candy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026

The monitors also tried to confiscate four power banks and chargers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

“Since we cannot confirm that this is merely food, we will confiscate this package.”

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

For every dollar of effort you put in, the system confiscates 70 to 100 cents,” he says.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 24, 2025

And he voted for a bill to strengthen a unique California program that confiscates guns from convicted felons who aren’t supposed to have them.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 4, 2022

The FBI comes back and confiscates the original devices, but not before Isaac made a copy of the hard drive.

From Fox News ● Oct. 15, 2020

Anyway, let’s discuss everything else happening in the golf world before someone confiscates my computer.

From Golf Digest ● May 14, 2019

She keeps a whole collection of the stuff she confiscates, and I don’t want my phone to be part of it.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

Long-term bonds became known, jocularly, as “certificates of confiscation”: Owning them entitled you to have some of your money confiscated by the government every year.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

The adults, hearing our incessant laughter, came into the room, instantly became horrified and confiscated the game.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

In mid-May, after a series of surprise inspections, authorities confiscated counterfeit goods from the markets and issued fines totalling more than $19,000.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

“Several weeks after staff confiscated his shoes, he had an appointment with a doctor at California City,” it continues.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

As part of a two-pronged attack, P.M. flashed around various assailants at high speed, leaving mirrors confiscated from Missus Nedraw’s stuck in midair.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

But the answer isn’t confiscating the screen that replaced the world I grew up in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

Across the country, government agents have been losing government documents, personal effects, medical devices, and other belongings after confiscating them, effectively turning released immigrants into legal non-persons.

From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2026

Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976, confiscating foreign assets, and again in 2007, impacting companies like Exxon.

From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026

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 ● Dec. 31, 2025

I remembered Papa talking about Stalin confiscating peasants’ land, tools, and animals.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

Related Words

• appropriate
• expropriate
• impound