arrest

B1 Topic:Crime & Justice

US /əˈɹɛst/ See IPA manual

Freq #1097

Meanings

1

verb
To take someone to a police station because they may have broken the law.

The police arrested the suspect outside his home.
2

noun
The act of taking someone into police custody.

The officer made the arrest after a long chase.
3

verb
To stop something from continuing or developing.

The new treatment helped arrest the spread of the disease.
4

noun
A sudden stop in the normal working of something, especially the heart.

He suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to take someone to a police... apprehend nab

2 noun · the act of taking someone... apprehension

3 verb · to stop something from... halt stop check

More dazzle discontinue engage entice seize

Word family

Forms arrestedarrestingarrests

Derived forms aperestarrest-me-redarrestabilityarrestablearresteearresterarrestinarrestingarrestivearrestmentarrestorde-arrest

Related forms arrestation

Appears in

Phrases (6)

See all

face arrest
be at risk of being detained by the police

Verb + noun
make an arrest
officially detain a person suspected of a crime

Verb + noun
resist arrest
physically oppose or refuse to comply with being detained

Verb + noun
mass arrest
the simultaneous detention of a large number of people

Adjective + noun
unlawful arrest
a detention carried out without legal authority

Adjective + noun
wrongful arrest
the illegal or unjustified detention of a person

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Arrest is traced to Latin restare, “to remain,” and entered English in the late Middle English period. Its development reflects the idea of stopping or detaining someone.

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”).

arest Middle English areste Old French *arrestō la-vul ad- Latin *steh₂- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Crime & Justice

External links

# arrest

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /əˈɹɛst/
**Frequency rank:** 1097

## Meanings
1. To take someone to a police station because they may have broken the law.
2. The act of taking someone into police custody.
3. To stop something from continuing or developing.
4. A sudden stop in the normal working of something, especially the heart.

## Examples
- The police arrested the suspect outside his home.
- The officer made the arrest after a long chase.
- The new treatment helped arrest the spread of the disease.
- He suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital.

## Synonyms
- dazzle
- discontinue
- engage
- entice
- halt
- seize

## Derived Forms
- aperest
- arrest-me-red
- arrestability
- arrestable
- arrestee
- arrester
- arrestin
- arresting
- arrestive
- arrestment
- arrestor
- de-arrest

## Related Forms
- arrestation

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: arest
- Root: areste
- Root: *arrestō
- Root: ad-
- Root: *steh₂-

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
Arrest comes 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”) plus restō (“to stop, remain behind, stay back”), from re- (“back”) plus stō (“to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”), equivalent to ad- plus rest. Compare French arrêter (“to stop”).

## Topics
- Crime & Justice

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