Arrest

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. The act of stopping, or restraining from further motion, etc.; stoppage; hindrance; restraint; as, an arrest of development. As the arrest of the air showeth. Bacon.

2. The taking or apprehending of a person by authority of law; legal restraint; custody. Also, a decree, mandate, or warrant. William . . . ordered him to be put under arrest. Macaulay. [Our brother Norway] sends out arrests On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys. Shak.

3. Any seizure by power, physical or moral. The sad stories of fire from heaven, the burning of his sheep, etc., . . . were sad arrests to his troubled spirit. Jer. Taylor.

4. A scurfiness of the back part of the hind leg of a horse; -- also named rat-tails. White. Arrest of judgment (Law), the staying or stopping of a judgment, after verdict, for legal cause. The motion for this purpose is called a motion in arrest of judgment.

Part of speech: verb (v.)

1. To stop; to check or hinder the motion or action of; as, to arrest the current of a river; to arrest the senses. Nor could her virtues the relentless hand Of Death arrest. Philips.

2. To take, seize, or apprehend by authority of law; as, to arrest one for debt, or for a crime.

3. To seize on and fix; to hold; to catch; as, to arrest the eyes or attention. Buckminster.

4. To rest or fasten; to fix; to concentrate. [Obs.] We may arrest our thoughts upon the divine mercies. Jer. Taylor.

Synonyms: obstruct; delay; detain; check; hinder; stop; apprehend; seize; lay hold of.

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To tarry; to rest. [Obs.] Spenser.