ar‧rest 1 W3 / ərest / 动词 [及物动词]

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.

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. | 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. | 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. | The killers were never apprehended. | 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. | 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. | 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.