arrest Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal)
    taking into custody; apprehension; pinch; catch; collar.
    • the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar
  2. noun the state of inactivity following an interruption
    halt; stoppage; stop; hitch; stay; check.
    • the negotiations were in arrest
    • held them in check
    • during the halt he got some lunch
    • the momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow
    • he spent the entire stop in his seat
  3. verb take into custody
    nab; cop; pick up; apprehend; nail; collar.
    • the police nabbed the suspected criminals
  4. verb hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of
    turn back; stop; hold back; contain; check.
    • Arrest the downward trend
    • Check the growth of communism in South East Asia
    • Contain the rebel movement
    • Turn back the tide of communism
  5. verb attract and fix
    catch; get.
    • His look caught her
    • She caught his eye
    • Catch the attention of the waiter
  6. verb cause to stop
    hold; halt.
    • Halt the engines
    • Arrest the progress
    • halt the presses

WordNet

Ar*rest" transitive verb
Etymology
OE. aresten, OF. arester, F. arrêter, fr. LL. arrestare; L. ad + restare to remain, stop; re + stare to stand. See Rest remainder.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Arrested; present participle & verbal noun Arresting
Definitions
  1. To stop; to check or hinder the motion or action of; as, to arrest the current of a river; to arrest the senses.
    Nor could her virtues the relentless hand Of Death arrest. Philips.
  2. (Law) To take, seize, or apprehend by authority of law; as, to arrest one for debt, or for a crime. ✍ After his word Shakespeare uses of ("I arrest thee of high treason") or on; the modern usage is for.
  3. To seize on and fix; to hold; to catch; as, to arrest the eyes or attention. Buckminster.
  4. To rest or fasten; to fix; to concentrate. Obs.
    We may arrest our thoughts upon the divine mercies. Jer. Taylor.
    Syn. -- To obstruct; delay; detain; check; hinder; stop; apprehend; seize; lay hold of.
Ar*rest" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To tarry; to rest. Obs. Spenser.
Ar*rest" noun
Etymology
OE. arest, arrest, OF. arest, F. arrêt, fr. arester. See Arrest, v. t., Arrt.
Definitions
  1. The act of stopping, or restraining from further motion, etc.; stoppage; hindrance; restraint; as, an arrest of development.
    As the arrest of the air showeth. Bacon.
  2. (Law) The taking or apprehending of a person by authority of law; legal restraint; custody. Also, a decree, mandate, or warrant.
    William . . . ordered him to be put under arrest. Macaulay.
    [Our brother Norway] sends out arrests On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys. Shak.
    ✍ An arrest may be made by seizing or touching the body; but it is sufficient in the party be within the power of the officer and submit to the arrest. In Admiralty law, and in old English practice, the term is applied to the seizure of property.
  3. Any seizure by power, physical or moral.
    The sad stories of fire from heaven, the burning of his sheep, etc., . . . were sad arrests to his troubled spirit. Jer. Taylor.
  4. (Far.) A scurfiness of the back part of the hind leg of a horse; -- also named rat-tails. White.

Webster 1913