arrest
to seize (a person) by legal authority or warrant; take into custody: The police arrested the burglar.
to catch and hold; attract and fix; engage: The loud noise arrested our attention.
to check the course of; stop; slow down: to arrest progress.
Medicine/Medical. to control or stop the active progress of (a disease): The new drug did not arrest the cancer.
the taking of a person into legal custody, as by officers of the law.
any seizure or taking by force.
an act of stopping or the state of being stopped: the arrest of tooth decay.
Machinery. any device for stopping machinery; stop.
Idioms about arrest
under arrest, in custody of the police or other legal authorities: They placed the suspect under arrest at the scene of the crime.
Origin of arrest
1synonym study For arrest
Other words for arrest
Other words from arrest
- ar·rest·a·ble, adjective
- ar·rest·ment, noun
- post·ar·rest, adjective
- pre·ar·rest, verb (used with object)
- pre·ar·rest·ment, noun
- re·ar·rest, verb (used with object), noun
- un·ar·rest·a·ble, adjective
- un·ar·rest·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use arrest in a sentence
In the week starting Dec. 22, arrests were down 66 percent compared to the same week in 2013.
But many I spoke to felt that even when the police were making arrests, they were frequently focused on the wrong issues.
And there were no riots at Million March NYC, and very few arrests.
Ava DuVernay on ‘Selma,’ the Racist Sony Emails, and Making Golden Globes History | Marlow Stern | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe demonstrations have been largely peaceful, with fewer arrests and clashes with police than in other cities.
Eric Garner Protesters Have a Direct Line to City Hall | Jacob Siegel | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt was unclear, as the protests wound down, whether there were any injuries and how many arrests had been made.
‘I Can’t Breathe’ Makes It Onto the Court for Will and Kate to See | Jacob Siegel | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
By so doing they have merely hastened the process by which Nature arrests the march of dunes.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerIn Spain, this year two attempts at insurrection were made; but they were followed by defeats, arrests, and executions.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. | E. Farr and E. H. NolanGenevieve knew policemen only as vaguely dreadful creatures connected with jails and arrests.
The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch | Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) PorterHe arrests, punishes and banishes, where there is trace of cooperation or connection with Deserter Fritz and his schemes.
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. VII. (of XXI.) | Thomas CarlyleGovernment officers soon discovered this company of Dissenters, stopped their meetings, and proceeded to make arrests.
William Bradford of Plymouth | Albert Hale Plumb
British Dictionary definitions for arrest
/ (əˈrɛst) /
to deprive (a person) of liberty by taking him into custody, esp under lawful authority
to seize (a ship) under lawful authority
to slow or stop the development or progress of (a disease, growth, etc)
to catch and hold (one's attention, sight, etc)
arrest judgment law to stay proceedings after a verdict, on the grounds of error or possible error
can't get arrested informal (of a performer) is unrecognized and unsuccessful: he can't get arrested here but is a megastar in the States
the act of taking a person into custody, esp under lawful authority
the act of seizing and holding a ship under lawful authority
the state of being held, esp under lawful authority: under arrest
Also called: arrestation (ˌærɛsˈteɪʃən) the slowing or stopping of the development or progress of something
the stopping or sudden cessation of motion of something: a cardiac arrest
Origin of arrest
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with arrest
see under arrest.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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