arrest

1 of 2

verb

ar·​rest ə-ˈrest 

arrested; arresting; arrests

transitive verb

1

: seize, capture

specifically : to take or keep in custody by authority of law

Police arrested the suspect.

2

a

: to bring to a stop

Sickness arrested his activities.

b

: check, slow

Its growth was arrested.

c

: to make inactive

an arrested tumor

3

: to catch suddenly and engagingly

arrest attention

arrester noun

or less commonly arrestor

ə-ˈre-stər 

arrestment

ə-ˈres(t)-mənt 

noun

arrest

2 of 2

noun

1

: the taking or detaining in custody by authority of law

The investigation led to his arrest.

2

a

: the act of stopping

b

: the condition of being stopped or inactive compare cardiac arrest

Phrases

under arrest

: in legal custody

The suspect was placed under arrest.

Synonyms

Verb

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

Noun

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

Examples of arrest in a Sentence

Verb

The police arrested him on drug charges.

The police officer said, “I'm arresting you in the name of the law.”

The drugs can't arrest the disease's progress, but they can slow it down considerably.

Noun

The police are investigating the case but they have not yet made any arrests.

She was charged with resisting arrest.

The information has led to the arrest of three suspects.

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

He was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania, and the unusual details of the case have drawn widespread interest. —CBS News, 13 Sep. 2023

Ruby, 41, was arrested on August 30 alongside her parenting advice podcast partner Jodi Hildebrandt after her 12-year-old son allegedly escaped Hildebrandt’s house and ran to a neighbor asking for help. —Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 13 Sep. 2023

She was arrested in February 2021 at Dulles International Airport near Washington. —Antonio Planas, NBC News, 13 Sep. 2023

The man was arrested after police found him to be armed with a pistol and intoxicated. —Robert Higgs, cleveland, 13 Sep. 2023

Haynes escaped just hours after he was arrested on suspicion of killing 33-year-old Brent Hayward last month, according to police. —Adrienne Winston, CNN, 13 Sep. 2023

Eugene police announced in June that a suspect was arrested and charged with two counts of arson. —Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2023

Two teenagers have been arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of another teenager in the Temple Hills area, Prince George’s County police said Tuesday. —Jasmine Hilton, Washington Post, 12 Sep. 2023

The employee who fled, a Cleveland man, 22, was arrested Aug. 31. —Andy Attina / Cleveland.com, cleveland, 1 Sep. 2023

Noun

He was involved in a scuffle about the matter at a raucous Loudoun County School Board meeting in June 2021, resulting in his arrest. —Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2023

Though arrests had been made in the case, the painting remained stuck in the void of the criminal underworld, being passed around like a nuclear hot potato ever since. —María Luisa Paúl, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Sep. 2023

Upon his Thursday arrest, it was determined that the man was injured during the police confrontation, but his wounds were considered survivable. —Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 14 Sep. 2023

State authorities had not sent the arrest order to the national warrant judiciary system, according to the documents. —Aicha El Hammar Castano, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2023

According to Insider, the Franke family amassed about 2.5 million followers on the page, which came under scrutiny around 2020 and has since been deleted by YouTube in the wake of Franke’s arrest last month. —Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 13 Sep. 2023

But the facial recognition system is being criticized after at least 140 other database errors led to police checks or arrests since the system went live in 2019—and before it was shut down with the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, according to city officials. —Karen Naundorf, WIRED, 13 Sep. 2023

These mugshots were taken for arrests made throughout the U.S. the week of Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2023. —Fox News, 2 Sep. 2023

Benjamin Hurlbut, a bioethicist at Arizona State University who is the son of Stanford’s William Hurlbut, has been deeply engaged with JK since before his arrest. —Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English aresten, arresten "to stop, halt (something or someone), come to a halt, wait, restrain, seize (a lawbreaker), take into custody," borrowed from Anglo-French arester (also continental Old French), going back to Vulgar Latin *arrestāre, from Latin ad- ad- (in Vulgar Latin marking or reinforcing transitivity) + restāre "to remain, be left unchanged" — more at rest entry 4

Noun

Middle English arest, arrest, borrowed from Anglo-French arest, areste, noun derivative of arester "to stop, hinder, seize and detain (a lawbreaker)" — more at arrest entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Phrases Containing arrest

• false arrest
• respiratory arrest
• house arrest
• citizen's arrest
• evade capture/arrest
• under arrest
• cardiac arrest

• false arrest
• respiratory arrest
• house arrest
• citizen's arrest
• evade capture/arrest
• under arrest
• cardiac arrest

See More

Kids Definition

arrest

1 of 2 verb

ar·​rest ə-ˈrest 

1

a

: to stop the progress or movement of

b

: check entry 2 sense 3, slow

arrest a disease

2

: to take or keep in one's control by authority of law

arrest someone on suspicion of robbery

3

: to attract and hold the attention of

colors that arrest the eye

arrest

2 of 2 noun

1

a

: the act of stopping

b

: the state of being stopped

2

: the act of taking or holding in one's control by authority of law

Medical Definition

arrest

1 of 2 transitive verb

ar·​rest ə-ˈrest 

: to bring to a standstill or state of inactivity

arrested tuberculosis

arrested labor

intransitive verb

: to undergo cardiac arrest

the … patient has arrested while being transported to surgery

—Wayne Fields

arrestment noun

arrest

2 of 2 noun

: the condition of being stopped

developmental arrest

see cardiac arrest compare cure entry 1 sense 1, remission

Legal Definition

arrest

1 of 2 noun

ar·​rest

ə-ˈrest

: the restraining and seizure of a person whether or not by physical force by someone acting under authority (as a police officer) in connection with a crime in such a manner that it is reasonable under the circumstances for the person to believe that he or she is not free to leave see also miranda warnings, probable cause at cause sense 2, warrant compare stop

— citizen's arrest

: an arrest made not by a law officer but by any citizen who derives the authority to arrest from the fact of being a citizen

Note: Under common law, a citizen may make an arrest for any felony actually committed, or for a breach of the peace committed in his or her presence.

— civil arrest

: the arrest and detention of a defendant in a civil suit until he or she posts bail or pays the judgment see also capias ad respondendum

Note: Civil arrest is restricted or prohibited in most states.

— custodial arrest

: an arrest of a person accompanied by or followed by taking the person into custody

— false arrest

: an arrest made without legal authority

called also unlawful arrest

Note: If a person is taken into custody, no matter how briefly, a false arrest is also false imprisonment.

— pretext arrest \ ˈprē-​ˌtekst-​ \

: the arrest of a person for a minor crime (as a traffic violation) for the real purpose of getting an opportunity to investigate (as through a search) the person's possible involvement in a more serious crime for which there are no lawful grounds to make an arrest

called also pretextual arrest

— unlawful arrest

: false arrest in this entry

arrest

2 of 2 transitive verb

: to place under arrest

arrester noun

also arrestor

Etymology

Noun

Middle French arest, from arester to stop, seize, arrest, ultimately from Latin ad to, at + restare to stay