dragnet
noun
drag·net
ˈdrag-ˌnet 
1
a
: a net drawn along the bottom of a body of water
b
: a net used on the ground (as to capture small game)
2
: a network of measures for apprehension (as of criminals)
Examples of dragnet in a Sentence
Nine suspects were caught in the police dragnet.
Recent Examples on the Web
The investigation became the biggest anticorruption dragnet in Brazilian history, leading to nearly 280 convictions and implicating top business people and politicians.
—
Omar G. Encarnación, Foreign Affairs, 29 Sep. 2025
The majority, as is typical in emergency or shadow docket decisions, provided no explanation for its order overturning a district court ruling that had blocked ICE’s immigration dragnets in Los Angeles as racially discriminatory.
—Ronald Brownstein, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025
Show more The strategy was to use facial recognition technology in hopes that innocent people who might look similar to the suspect were not caught unjustly in a dragnet, the spokesperson said.
—Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 14 Sep. 2025
Among those caught in the digital dragnet was Parida Qabylqai, an ethnic Kazakh pharmacist at a military hospital in Xinjiang.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dragnet
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Omar G. Encarnación, Foreign Affairs, 29 Sep. 2025
The majority, as is typical in emergency or shadow docket decisions, provided no explanation for its order overturning a district court ruling that had blocked ICE’s immigration dragnets in Los Angeles as racially discriminatory.
—Ronald Brownstein, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025
Show more The strategy was to use facial recognition technology in hopes that innocent people who might look similar to the suspect were not caught unjustly in a dragnet, the spokesperson said.
—Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 14 Sep. 2025
Among those caught in the digital dragnet was Parida Qabylqai, an ethnic Kazakh pharmacist at a military hospital in Xinjiang.
—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dragnet
Cite this Entry
“Dragnet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dragnet. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dragnet
noun
drag·net
ˈdrag-ˌnet
1
: a net dragged along the bottom of a body of water
2
: a series of planned actions for catching a criminal
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