impound

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ɪmˈpaʊnd/ UK /ɪmˈpaʊnd/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to seize and hold in legal custody, or to confine in a pound

The police impounded the abandoned car the very next morning.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to seize and hold in legal... confiscate seize appropriate commandeer confine detain sequester

Opposites

release free return

Word family

Derived forms impoundmentimpounderimpoundable

Related forms pound

Etymology

From in- ('in') + pound ('an enclosure for animals'), the noun from Old English pund ('enclosure'). The verb originally meant to shut up in a pound.

pund Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government

# impound

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ɪmˈpaʊnd
**IPA (UK):** ɪmˈpaʊnd

## Meanings
1. to seize and hold in legal custody, or to confine in a pound

## Examples
- The police impounded the abandoned car the very next morning.

## Synonyms
- confiscate
- seize
- appropriate
- commandeer
- confine
- detain
- sequester

## Antonyms
- release
- free
- return

## Derived Forms
- impoundment
- impounder
- impoundable

## Related Forms
- pound

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pund

## Etymology
From in- ('in') + pound ('an enclosure for animals'), the noun from Old English pund ('enclosure'). The verb originally meant to shut up in a pound.

## AI Etymology
Impound comes from in- ('in') + pound ('an enclosure for animals'), the noun from Old English pund ('enclosure'). The verb originally meant to shut up in a pound. The etymological trail includes Old English pund. As a verb, impound means to seize and hold in legal custody, or to confine in a pound. The same family is visible in derived forms such as impoundment, impounder, and impoundable and related forms such as pound. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Law & Government

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impound

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