house arrest

noun

Updated on: 6 Apr 2018

Definition of house arrest

: confinement often under guard to one's house or quarters instead of in prison

See house arrest defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of house arrest from the Web

The police in Maryland had proposed using the type of ankle bracelet designed for people who are under house arrest.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "How a Young Woman Lost Her Identity," 26 Mar. 2018
Suu Kyi was a Mandela-like figure in Myanmar who spent years under house arrest for opposing the country's military dictatorship.

— Bloomberg.com, "Holocaust Museum Revokes Suu Kyi’s Human-Rights Award," 7 Mar. 2018
Hefetz, who served as Netanyahu's official spokesman from 2009 to 2010 and a media adviser to his family between 2014 and 2017, was released to house arrest on Sunday.

— NBC News, "Former Netanyahu spokesman signs witness deal in graft probe," 5 Mar. 2018
That was in one cynical respect true; there is no legal house arrest in China, meaning she has been held illegally.

— jared genser, WSJ, "Where Is Liu Xiaobo’s Widow?," 2 Aug. 2017
According to Poulsen, Lamo was sentenced to six months of house arrest at his parents' home in Carmichael, California, followed by two years of probation.

— dan goodin, Ars Technica, "Adrian Lamo, former hacker who turned in Chelsea Manning, dead at 37," 17 Mar. 2018
Hazelwood has been placed under house arrest pending sentencing.

— plain dealer guest writer, cleveland.com, "Federal judge orders release of recordings in Pilot Flying J case," 8 Mar. 2018
He was flown to Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, where he was placed under house arrest for one month.

— jacques kelly, baltimoresun.com, "Andre De Bels, missionary and Cardinal Gibbons teacher, dies," 8 Mar. 2018
The aging general was placed under house arrest and, in 2010, was convicted of human rights violations.

— adam bernstein, Washington Post, "Reynaldo Bignone, last leader of Argentina’s murderous junta, dies at 90," 7 Mar. 2018

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