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arrest

v. · n.
US //ɝˈɛst// UK //ɐɹˈɛst// ar·rest
  1. 1 legal seizure (v.)
    B1 Intermediate Law

    when the police take someone away because they believe the person broke the law.

    to seize someone by legal authority and take them into custody.

    Example

    The police had to arrest the man after he tried to steal a car.

    Example

    Officers moved in to arrest the suspect as he was attempting to board an international flight at the city's main airport.

    Usage

    The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, usually a person.
  2. 2 to stop or slow (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Formal

    to stop something from moving or to slow down a process.

    to check or halt the motion or progress of something.

    Example

    The doctors gave him medicine to arrest the spread of the infection.

    Example

    The new government policy was designed to arrest the decline of the manufacturing sector before the economic crisis deepened further.
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  1. 3 to catch attention (v.)
    C1 Advanced Literary

    to suddenly get someone's attention because something is very interesting or unusual.

    to attract and fix the attention or interest of someone.

    Example

    The bright colors of the painting will arrest your attention immediately.

    Example

    The stark contrast of the ruins against the modern skyline was enough to arrest the attention of every passerby.
  2. 4 the act of being taken by police (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Law

    the act of the police catching someone and taking them to jail.

    the act of taking a person into custody under the authority of the law.

    Example

    The news reported the arrest of three people after the bank robbery.

    Example

    The sudden arrest of the CEO sent shockwaves through the financial markets and caused the company's stock price to tumble.
  3. 5 medical emergency (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Technical Medicine

    a sudden stop in the normal working of an organ, especially the heart.

    the sudden cessation of the functional activity of an organ.

    Example

    He was rushed to the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest at home.

    Example

    The patient went into respiratory arrest shortly after the surgery, requiring the medical team to intervene with emergency ventilation.

    Usage

    Commonly occurs in the compound 'cardiac arrest'.
Origin

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”).

Word family

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