sequester

[ si-kwes-ter ]

/ sɪˈkwɛs tər /

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See synonyms for: sequester / sequestered on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to remove or withdraw into solitude or retirement; seclude.

to remove or separate; banish; exile.

to keep apart from others; segregate or isolate: The jury was sequestered until a verdict was reached.

Law. to remove (property) temporarily from the possession of the owner; seize and hold, as the property and income of a debtor, until legal claims are satisfied.

International Law. to requisition, hold, and control (enemy property).

to trap (a chemical in the atmosphere or environment) and isolate it in a natural or artificial storage area: There are processes to sequester carbon from a power plant's exhaust gases.Plants can sequester toxins and store them in their tissues.

noun

an act or instance of sequestering; separation; isolation.

sequestration (def. 7): domestic programs starved for cash by the federal sequester.

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Origin of sequester

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sequestren, from Latin sequestrāre “to put in hands of a trustee,” derivative of sequester “trustee, depositary”

OTHER WORDS FROM sequester

se·ques·tra·ble, adjectivenon·se·ques·tered, adjectiveself-se·ques·tered, adjectiveun·se·ques·tered, adjective

Words nearby sequester

sequential-access, sequential analysis, sequentially, sequentially compact set, sequential scanning, sequester, sequestrant, sequestrate, sequestration, sequestrectomy, sequestrum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sequester in a sentence

Used, hubcap-free tires are well known to sequester standing water—a perfect breeding ground for the next generation of mosquitos.
Chikungunya: The Mosquito-Borne Virus That Contorts Your Limbs|Kent Sepkowitz|March 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The statement was solely focused on spending levels under the omnibus and their increase over the sequester.
Conservative Groups Oppose Budget Deal|Ben Jacobs|January 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Budget Control Act of 2011 and the sequester have cut discretionary spending across the board.
The Deficit Excuse Is Fading Fast|Daniel Gross|January 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the overall funding levels, while better than the sequester, are still awfully low.
Boehner, the Tea Party, and the Ryan Express|Michael Tomasky|December 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

It provides $63 billion in sequester relief, which is partially offset by a $23 billion mix of spending cuts and “fees.”
Tea Party Republicans: The Biggest Sore Winners in Washington|Jamelle Bouie|December 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Some hoped to overthrow all law and order, that they might revel in the wealth they could then sequester.
Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No 3, September 1863|Various
If any proven guilt results you shall sequester the property of offenders, in order to assure the judgment.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898|Emma Helen Blair
I have been sent to sequester myself in my see; I have been set to gnaw my fingers as they had been old bones thrown to a dog.
The Fifth Queen Crowned|Ford Madox Ford
As surely as the wolf retires before cities, does the fairy sequester herself from the haunts of the licensed victualer.
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
All that was necessary was to sequester the vessels and goods of merchants belonging to the nation at which it wished to strike.
The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the XVII Century|Clarence Henry Haring

British Dictionary definitions for sequester

sequester

/ (sɪˈkwɛstə) /

verb (tr)

to remove or separate

(usually passive) to retire into seclusion

law to take (property) temporarily out of the possession of its owner, esp until the claims of creditors are satisfied or a court order is complied with

international law to requisition or appropriate (enemy property)

Derived forms of sequester

sequestrable, adjective

Word Origin for sequester

C14: from Late Latin sequestrāre to surrender for safekeeping, from Latin sequester a trustee

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sequester

Origin of sequester

OTHER WORDS FROM sequester

Words nearby sequester

Words related to sequester

How to use sequester in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sequester

Derived forms of sequester

Word Origin for sequester