confiscate

adjective con·fis·cate \ ˈkän-fə-ˌskāt , kən-ˈfi-skət \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: confiscate in a Sentence

Definition of confiscate

1 : appropriated by the government : forfeited

2 : deprived of property by confiscation

Origin and Etymology of confiscate

Latin confiscatus, past participle of confiscare to confiscate, from com- + fiscus treasury

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1533

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

confiscate

verb con·fis·cate \ ˈkän-fə-ˌskāt \

Definition of confiscate

confiscated; confiscating

transitive verb

1 : to seize as forfeited to the public treasury

2 : to seize by or as if by authority

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confiscation

play \ˌkän-fə-ˈskā-shən\ noun

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confiscator

play \ˈkän-fə-ˌskā-tər\ noun

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confiscatory

play \kən-ˈfi-skə-ˌtȯr-ē\ adjective

See confiscate defined for English-language learners

See confiscate defined for kids

Examples of confiscate in a Sentence

Guards confiscated knives and other weapons from the prisoners.
The teacher confiscated all cell phones for the duration of the field trip.

Recent Examples of confiscate from the Web

Yan labeled the packages as clothing, buttons, radios and cleaning supplies, and when Gibbons claimed that one had been confiscated by customs, Yan sent another for free.

— Fortune, "Deadly Chinese Fentanyl Is Creating a New Era of Drug Kingpins," 6 June 2018
In 2000, the North Carolina Museum of Art agreed to return to an Austrian family a 16th-century painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, which had been confiscated by Nazi officers in 1940.

— berthold steinhilber, Smithsonian, "The Lost Maidens of Berlin," 24 May 2018
Sky News correspondent Tom Cheshire said his team's satellite phone and radiation dosimeter -- a device to measure nuclear radiation -- was confiscated by security at Wonsan airport.

— james griffiths, CNN, "How to get to North Korea's nuclear site," 23 May 2018
According to the Washington Post, this is the fourth time a weapon has been confiscated at a security checkpoint at the Richmond airport this year.

— alexandra deabler, Fox News, "Hot pink gun confiscated at Richmond International Airport, woman arrested," 8 May 2018
Good news for air travelers: Unlike a Swiss Army Knife, which could get confiscated at a security checkpoint, your Nimble is good to go as carry on.

— judi dash, latimes.com, "These items help you find your stuff, ease your pain, make the cut and drift off to sleep," 23 Apr. 2018
Some items, including kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, a dishwasher and a storage cabinet organizer, could not be readily confiscated by officers, documents say.

— holly v. hays, Indianapolis Star, "Money stolen from Boys and Girls Club paid for Michael Kors purses and more, police say," 11 Apr. 2018
Works that had been confiscated by the Nazis and not restituted should be identified.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Persistent Crime of Nazi-Looted Art," 11 Mar. 2018
Several petrol bombs were found and confiscated by police Tuesday morning.

— uditha jayasinghe, WSJ, "Sri Lanka Declares State of Emergency to Quell Buddhist-Muslim Violence," 6 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'confiscate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of confiscate

1552

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

confiscate Synonyms

CONFISCATE Defined for English Language Learners

confiscate

verb

Definition of confiscate for English Language Learners

: to take (something) away from someone especially as punishment or to enforce the law or rules

CONFISCATE Defined for Kids

confiscate

verb con·fis·cate \ ˈkän-fə-ˌskāt \

Definition of confiscate for Students

confiscated; confiscating

: to seize by or as if by public authority

Police confiscated the stolen car.

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confiscation

\ˌkän-fə-ˈskā-shən\ noun

Law Dictionary

confiscate

transitive verb con·fis·cate \ ˈkän-fə-ˌskāt \

legal Definition of confiscate

confiscated; confiscating

: to seize without compensation as forfeited to the public treasury — compare criminal forfeiture

Note: Illegal items such as narcotics or firearms, or profits from the sale of illegal items, may be confiscated by law enforcement officers. Additionally, government action that reduces the value of property to a person or entity as to make it nearly worthless has been held to constitute confiscation. Examples of such government action include the passage of zoning laws that prevent the use of land for its designated purpose and the setting of utility rates so low that the utility company cannot realize a reasonable return on its investment.

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