Arrest Definition
ə-rĕst
arrested, arrests
verb
arrested, arrests
To stop or check the motion, course, or spread of.
Webster's New World
To seize and hold under the authority of law.
American Heritage
To seize or take into custody by authority of the law.
Webster's New World
To capture and hold briefly (the attention, for example); engage.
American Heritage
To catch and keep (one's attention, sight, etc.)
Webster's New World
noun
arrests
The act of detaining in legal custody.
The arrest of a criminal suspect.
American Heritage
An arresting or being arrested; esp., a taking or being taken into custody by authority of the law.
Webster's New World
The state of being so detained.
A suspect under arrest.
American Heritage
A thing for checking motion.
Webster's New World
A device for stopping motion, especially of a moving part.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
- warrant
- securement
- sanctuary
- restriction
- restraint
- prevention. associatedwords: capias
- duress
- delay
- custody
- containment
- stoppage
- capias
- arrestment
- arrestation
- stay
idiom
under arrest
- in legal custody, as of the police
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Arrest
Origin of Arrest
-
From Old French arester (“to stay, stop”), from Vulgar Latin *arrestare, from Latin ad- (“to”) + restare (“to stop, remain behind, stay back”), from re- (“back”) + stare (“to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”).
From Wiktionary
-
Middle English aresten from Old French arester from Vulgar Latin arrestāre Latin ad- ad- Latin restāre to stand still (re- re-) (stāre to stand stā- in Indo-European roots)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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