Meanings
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1
verb
To take someone to a police station because they may have broken the law.
The police arrested the suspect outside his home.
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2
noun
The act of taking someone into police custody.
The officer made the arrest after a long chase.
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3
verb
To stop something from continuing or developing.
The new treatment helped arrest the spread of the disease.
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4
noun
A sudden stop in the normal working of something, especially the heart.
He suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital.
Thesaurus
Common collocations
Etymology
From Middle English arest (noun) and aresten (verb), from Old French areste (noun) and arester (“to stay, stop”, verb), from Vulgar Latin *arrestō, from Latin ad- (“to”) + restō (“to stop, remain behind, stay back”), from re- (“back”) + stō (“to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”), equivalent to ad- + rest. Compare French arrêter (“to stop”).
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