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 leader is popular in El Salvador after launching a widespread gang crackdown that has slashed crime rates, though rights groups say innocent people have been caught up in the dragnet. —Reuters, NBC news, 22 Aug. 2025

Human rights advocates, meanwhile, warn that the crime crackdown has resulted in tens of thousands of innocents being caught in a dragnet. —Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 22 Aug. 2025

Betro fled the country, triggering a dragnet with various international law enforcement agencies trying to track her down. —Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 12 Aug. 2025

But the dragnets being cast by police who seek data on thousands of households at a time are also netting people who put up a lot of Christmas lights, heat or air condition large homes or, as in Decker’s case, mine cryptocurrency. —Sacbee.com, 4 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1528, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for dragnet

• abet
• asset
• baguette
• banquette
• barbette
• beget
• beset
• brevet
• briquette
• brunet
• brunette
• burette

Kids 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