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

Last month, her lawyer requested she be placed under house arrest, saying that she suffers from heart problems for which her prison conditions do not provide adequate care.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Because of recurrent health problems, he is currently under house arrest rather than in a cell, but he has been prohibited from posting on social media or making public statements.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

Having been arrested in Hungary in 2019, he was extradited to Portugal and has at various points been in solitary confinement, under house arrest and in witness protection.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak can serve the remaining two years of his abuse of power sentence under house arrest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Mossadegh was jailed for three years and then placed under house arrest, till his death in 1967.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi