ap ‧ pre ‧ hend /ˌæprɪˈhend/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: apprehendere 'to take hold of' , from ad- 'to' + prehendere 'to seize' ]
1 . formal if the police apprehend a criminal, they catch him or her SYN arrest :
The police have failed to apprehend the culprits.
2 . old-fashioned to understand something:
They were slow to apprehend the danger.
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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.