impound

verb

im·​pound im-ˈpau̇nd 

impounded; impounding; impounds

transitive verb

1

a

: to shut up in or as if in a pound : confine

b

: to seize and hold in the custody of the law

c

: to take possession of

she was dismissed and her manuscript impounded

—Jonathan Weiner

2

: to collect and confine (water) in or as if in a reservoir

Examples of impound in a Sentence

The police impounded her car because it was illegally parked.

impound evidence for a trial

Recent Examples on the Web

The company also wants to impound all bootleg DVDs from the operation while forcing PayPal to give up all the revenue from the DVD sales to Amazon. —Michael Kan, PCMAG, 24 Aug. 2023

Under the program, police have had authority to impound vehicles driven by people who had accumulated more than $1,000 worth of specific driving or equipment citations. —Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 23 Aug. 2023

The car was found unoccupied in a parking lot near West 208th Street and impounded to be returned to the owner. —cleveland, 11 Aug. 2023

Animal impounded: Brush Avenue Police conducted a welfare check Sept. 6 at an apartment and found a dog was being kept in an unsanitary environment. —Robert Higgs, cleveland, 13 Sep. 2023

The Italian government has vowed to go after human smugglers and has restricted the activities of charity rescue ships, impounding several of their vessels last month. —Alvise Armellini, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Sep. 2023

In July, investigators from New York impounded a black Chevy Avalanche pick up truck from a property Heuermann owns in Chester, S.C., which is about an hour-and-a-half from Sumter. —Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 6 Sep. 2023

Read full article Prosecutors did not disclose details of the stabbing in court and the police report was impounded. —Talia Lissauer, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2023

Zdarsky was grounded, his trike was impounded, and the StB was onto him. —Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

impound

verb

im·​pound im-ˈpau̇nd 

1

: to shut up in or as if in an enclosed place

2

: to seize and hold in the hands of the law

impound evidence for a trial

impoundment

-ˈpau̇n(d)-mənt

noun

Legal Definition

impound

transitive verb

im·​pound im-ˈpau̇nd 

: to take control of in the custody of the law or by legal authority

impound a vehicle

the police impounded the dwelling until the search warrant was obtained

impoundment noun