🇬🇧
/əˈrɛst/
🇬🇧
/əˈrɛst/
🇺🇸
/əˈrest/
🇺🇸
/əˈrest/
Plural
arrests
Past Tense
arrested
Past Participle
arrested
Gerund
arresting
3rd Person
arrests
Arrest means to legally seize and take someone into custody, usually by police, because they are suspected of committing a crime — it's like hitting the 'pause button' on a person's freedom until the law sorts things out. For example, if someone steals a bike and gets caught red-handed, officers might say, 'You're under arrest!' and handcuff them.
The police arrested the suspect at his apartment early this morning.
She was arrested for shoplifting a designer handbag from the department store.
No one can be arrested without probable cause or a valid warrant in most democratic countries.
The journalist was briefly arrested while covering the protest but released after two hours.
He fled the country before he could be arrested for fraud.
rest
Comes from the Old French 'arest(er)' and ultimately from the Latin 'restare', meaning 'to stop, hold back, or remain'. The Latin root combines 're-' (back) + 'stare' (to stand), conveying the core idea of 'standing still' or 'halting motion'. Examples include arrest, rest, restraint, restrict, obstruct, and district. Core meaning summary: 'to stop, hold, or stand firm'.