Arrest Meaning
/əˈɹɛst/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA check; a stop; an act or instance of arresting something.
nounThe condition of being stopped, standstill.
Sentence Examples
You are under arrest.
He resisted arrest violently.
We used emergency measures to revive the cardiac arrest patient.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The police decided to ____ the thief after finding the stolen wallet in his pocket.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The police had to ____ the man for driving much too fast in the city.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The sad stories of fire from heaven, the burning of his sheep, etc., […] were sad arrests to his troubled spirit."
— 1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC:
"An vncouth paine torments my grieued ſoule,
And death arreſts the organe of my voyce."
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene vii:
"Nor could her virtues, nor repeated vows Of thousand lovers, the relentless hand Of Death arrest;"
— 1708, [John Philips], “Book I”, in Cyder. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 11:
"Mr. Van Rensberg broke the spell by arresting Martha as she trailed past him on Billy's arm, by pointing his pipestem at her and saying, ‘Hey, Matty, come here a minute.’"
— 1952, Doris Lessing, Martha Quest, Panther, published 1974, page 86:
"A white Starre[…]whiche to every mans sighte did lighte and arrest apon the Standard of Albry."
— 1538, John Leland, Itineraries:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The police decided to ____ the thief after finding the stolen wallet in his pocket.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The police had to ____ the man for driving much too fast in the city.