I. ar ‧ rest 1 W3 /əˈrest/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: arester 'to rest, arrest' , from Vulgar Latin arrestare , from Latin ad- 'to' + restare 'to remain, rest' ]
1 . if the police arrest someone, the person is taken to a ↑ police station because the police think they have done something illegal:
He was arrested and charged with murder.
arrest somebody for something
Her father was arrested for fraud.
I got arrested for careless driving.
arrest somebody in connection with something
Five youths were arrested in connection with the attack.
arrest somebody on charges/suspicion of (doing) something
He was arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs.
2 . formal to stop something happening or to make it happen more slowly:
drugs used to arrest the spread of the disease
3 . literary if something arrests you or arrests your attention, you notice it because it is interesting or unusual:
The mountains are the most arresting feature of the glen.
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THESAURUS
▪ catch to stop someone who is trying to escape, especially by running after them and then holding them:
He raced after her, but he couldn’t catch her.
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The police caught the bank robbers after a car chase through the city.
▪ arrest if the police arrest someone, they take him or her to a police station because they think that person has done something illegal:
Wayne was arrested for dangerous driving.
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The police arrested him and charged him with murder.
▪ apprehend formal if the police apprehend someone they think has done something illegal, they catch him or her:
The two men were later apprehended after they robbed another store.
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The killers were never apprehended.
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All of the kidnappers were apprehended and convicted.
▪ capture to catch an enemy or a criminal in order to keep them as a prisoner:
The French king was captured by the English at the battle of Poitiers in 1356.
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The gunmen were finally captured after a shoot-out with the police.
▪ take somebody prisoner to catch someone, especially in a war, in order to keep them as a prisoner:
350 soldiers were killed and another 300 taken prisoner.
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Ellison was taken prisoner by the Germans during the retreat to Dunkirk.
▪ trap to make someone go to a place from which they cannot escape, especially by using your skill and intelligence:
Police trapped the man inside a bar on the city’s southside.
▪ corner to force someone into a place from which they cannot escape:
He was cornered outside the school by three gang members.
II. arrest 2 BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
when the police take someone away and guard them because they may have done something illegal:
The police made several arrests.
A man is under arrest (=the police are guarding him) following the suspicious death of his wife.
place/put somebody under arrest (=arrest someone)
He sued the police for wrongful arrest (=when someone who is not guilty is arrested) .
⇨ ↑ house arrest , ⇨ cardiac arrest at ↑ cardiac