house arrest

American  

noun

• house arrests
  plural

1. confinement of an arrested person to their residence or to a public place, such as a hospital, instead of in a jail.

   He was under house arrest until the day of his trial.

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house arrest British  

noun

1. confinement to one's own home

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house arrest Cultural  

1. Forcible detention in one's house rather than in a prison. House arrest is used by some nations as a way to silence political dissent without the elaborate trials and criminal proceedings that would bring bad publicity.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• house arrests
  plural

Etymology

Origin of house arrest

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

house arrest

Her son, Kim Aris, a British national, has sought independently verified proof that his mother is alive after she was transferred to house arrest.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

A few months ago, she was moved to house arrest on what the government said were humanitarian grounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

After Koroma was charged and placed under house arrest, Ecowas brokered a deal with the government of Sierra Leone, allowing the former president to go into exile in Nigeria and seek medical attention there.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

But the new administration is offering "some sort of path forward" -- touting a new peace plan, moving Suu Kyi from prison to house arrest and signing off opportunistic truces.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

He’s definitely glad he’s not at home in James Robert Lamar Jr.’s personal version of house arrest.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone