impound
Americanverb (used with object)
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impounds,
present (3rd person singular)
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impounded,
past participle, past
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impounding
present participle
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to shut up in a pound or other enclosure, as a stray animal.
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to confine within an enclosure or within limits.
water impounded in a reservoir.
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to seize and retain in custody of the law, as a document for evidence.
noun
verb
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to confine (stray animals, illegally parked cars, etc) in a pound
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to seize (chattels, etc) by legal right
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to take possession of (a document, evidence, etc) and hold in legal custody
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to collect (water) in a reservoir or dam, as for irrigation
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to seize or appropriate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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impoundsimple
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impoundssimple
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have impoundedperfect
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has impoundedperfect
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am impoundingprogressive
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are impoundingprogressive
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is impoundingprogressive
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have been impoundingperfect progressive
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has been impoundingperfect progressive
Past
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impoundedsimple
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had impoundedperfect
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was impoundingprogressive
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were impoundingprogressive
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had been impoundingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of impound
Explanation
To impound something is to legally take it away from its owner. The police might impound your car if you were parked in front of a fire hydrant. Sometimes a city will impound a driver's car after they've accumulated many unpaid parking tickets. Another reason to impound someone's vehicle is because they haven't been making their loan payments — in a case like this, the bank that holds the loan might impound the car. A second meaning of impound is to shut an animal inside an enclosure or pound.
Vocabulary lists containing impound
Born a Crime
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"Piracy Bites!" and "Doonesbury on Downloading"
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Henry V
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The watchdog group said that, after his arrest, Ludwig lost his car because it was impounded by police and he was unable to pay the impound fee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
I was still worried about what had happened to the fireworks, and I squirmed as we picked up the car at the impound lot and mom drove the 30 miles home.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
While the Niesmann + Bischoff motorhome gathers dust in a Police Scotland impound lot, Murrell is also revealed to have made several other luxury purchases with embezzled funds.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
At the impound lot, Vescovi pulled into a spot where his dashcam pointed away from Spivey’s truck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
They impound the car and take him to jail, where he spends the night.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Another motion by Hernandez would have established a 60-day grace period for parking tickets and vehicle impounds while the fire emergency remains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2025
If a towing company impounds the vehicle of a servicemember, they are required to first obtain a court order before any sale of the car.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
Servicing companies collect monthly payments, pay money for real estate taxes and insurance from escrow impounds that they collect, and issue a release of lien or mortgage upon the complete payoff of the loan.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 8, 2022
Most of these impounds were “peak-hour tows,” in which parking officers OK an impound and tow trucks swoop in to clear the road lanes of parked cars at rush hour.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2022
No beadle here impounds you, to suit his crabbed mood; No strife profanes our little church, tho' there it rages high, But then we have no little church, and that, perhaps, is why!
From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 01 — Fiction by Sir John Alexander Hammerton
In addition to 78 misdemeanor arrests, Leary said police impounded two vehicles whose drivers were “aiding and abetting.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
England's decision to ship their own food to Mexico, some of which was impounded - although the fish fingers made it through - offended the locals, who pride themselves on their hospitality.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
In deeper reservoirs, however, it helped reduce deoxygenation in the impounded area.
From Science Daily ● May 17, 2026
Owner Sinoguards Marine Security said Iranian authorities impounded the ship Thursday, the same day President Trump held a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
“We have impounded the rental vehicle as evidence. Mr. Shaffer put on a lot of mileage.”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Towing and impounding companies may auction unclaimed vehicles within a certain amount of time.
From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2026
Some have suggested that this could portend a more carefully planned attempt at impounding soon.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2025
Potential environmental impacts of reservoir construction are another significant impediment to adoption of PSH when impounding a natural waterway.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2023
Minibus taxi operators across Cape Town also aired frustrations that the government was impounding taxis they claimed were not roadworthy.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2023
“I just wanted directions and the next thing I know”—I gave a cheerfully dismayed laugh—“this man’s telling me I’m on private property and he’s impounding my car.”
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
