arrest

¹ar·rest

transitive verb \ə-ˈrest\

Definition of ARREST

1

a : to bring to a stop <sickness arrested his activities>

b : check, slow

c : to make inactive <an arrested tumor>

2

: seize, capture; specifically : to take or keep in custody by authority of law

3

: to catch suddenly and engagingly <arrest attention>

— ar·rest·er also ar·res·tor \-ˈres-tər\ noun

— ar·rest·ment \-ˈres(t)-mənt\ noun

Examples of ARREST

1. The police arrested him on drug charges.
2. The police officer said, “I'm arresting you in the name of the law.”
3. The drugs can't arrest the disease's progress, but they can slow it down considerably.

Origin of ARREST

Middle English aresten, from Anglo-French arester to stop, arrest, from Vulgar Latin *arrestare, from Latin ad- + restare to remain — more at rest

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to ARREST

Synonyms

apprehend, bust [slang], collar, nab, nail, nick [British slang], pick up, pinch, pull in, restrain, run in, seize

Antonyms

discharge

Related Words

bag, capture, catch, get, grab, grapple, hook, land, snap (up), snare, snatch, trap; commit, confine, detain, hold, immure, imprison, incarcerate, intern, jail, jug, lock (up); bind, enchain, fetter, handcuff, manacle, shackle, trammel; rearrest; remand

Near Antonyms

emancipate, free, liberate, loose, loosen, release, spring; unbind, unchain

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

Rhymes with ARREST

abreast, abscessed, appressed, armrest, at best, at rest, attest, backrest, beau geste, bed rest, behest, bequest, blood test, congest, conquest, contest, crow's nest, depressed, detest, devest, digest, distressed, divest, egest, eighth rest, field-test, flight-test, footrest, gabfest, half rest, hard-pressed, headrest, high-test, hillcrest, hope chest, houseguest, imprest, incest, infest, ingest, inquest, interest, invest, Key West, lovefest, love nest, Mae West, mare's nest, Midwest, molest, northwest, patch test, posttest, pretest, professed, protest, redbreast, repressed, request, revest, road test, scratch test, screen test, sea chest, skin test, slop chest, slugfest, southwest, spot test, steam chest, stress test, suggest, Trieste, t-test, unblessed, undressed, unrest, unstressed, war chest, whole rest, Wild West

²arrest

noun

Definition of ARREST

1

a : the act of stopping

b : the condition of being stopped or inactive — compare cardiac arrest

2

: the taking or detaining in custody by authority of law

— under arrest

: in legal custody

Examples of ARREST

1. The police are investigating the case but they have not yet made any arrests.
2. She was charged with resisting arrest.
3. The information has led to the arrest of three suspects.

First Known Use of ARREST

14th century

Related to ARREST

Synonyms

apprehension, arrestment, bust [slang], collar, pinch

Antonyms

discharge

Related Words

raid; house arrest; capture, entrapment, seizure; captivity, confinement, detention, enchainment, hold, immurement, imprisonment, incarceration, restraint; rearrest; remand

Near Antonyms

emancipation, liberation, release

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

arrest

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Restraint and seizure of a person by someone (e.g., a police officer) acting under legal authority. An officer may arrest a person who is committing or attempting to commit a crime in the officer's presence. Arrest is also permitted if the officer reasonably believes that a crime has been committed and that the person arrested is the guilty party. A court or judicial officer may issue an arrest warrant on a showing of probable cause. Most states restrict or prohibit arrest in civil (noncriminal) cases; an example of occasionally permitted civil arrest is the taking into custody of a debtor who might otherwise abscond. In the U.S., suspects must be warned of their rights when they are arrested (see Miranda v. Arizona). An unlawful arrest is regarded as false imprisonment and usually invalidates any evidence collected in connection with it. See also rights of the accused; grand jury; indictment.