What is "arrest"

Arrest \Ar*rest"\, v. i. To tarry; to rest. [Obs.]
--Spenser.

Arrest \Ar*rest"\, n. [OE. arest, arrest, OF. arest, F. arr[^e]t, fr. arester. See Arrest, v. t., Arr?t.]

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. (Law) 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.

   Note: An arrest may be made by seizing or touching the body; but it is sufficient in the party be within the power of the officer and submit to the arrest. In Admiralty law, and in old English practice, the term is applied to the seizure of property.

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. (Far.) 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.

Arrest \Ar*rest"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Arrested; p. pr. & vb. n. Arresting.] [OE. aresten, OF. arester, F. arr[^e]ter, fr. LL. arrestare; L. ad + restare to remain, stop; re + stare to stand. See Rest remainder.]

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

   Note: After this word Shakespeare uses of (``I arrest thee of high treason'') or on; the modern usage is for.

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.

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

"to cause to stop," also "to detain legally," late 14c., from Old French arester "to stay, stop" (Modern French arrêter), from Vulgar Latin *arrestare (source of Italian arrestare, Spanish and Portuguese arrestar), from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + restare "to stop, remain behind, stay back" (see rest (n.2)). Figurative sense of "to catch and hold" (the attention, etc.) is from 1814.

late 14c., from Anglo-French arest, Old French areste, from arester (see arrest (v.)).

n. 1 A check, stop, an act or instance of arrest#Verb something. 2 The condition of being stopped, standstill. 3 (context legal English) The process of arresting a criminal, suspect etc. 4 A confinement, detention, as after an arrest. 5 A device to physically arrest motion. 6 (context nautical English) The judicial detention of a ship to secure a financial claim against its operators. 7 (context obsolete English) Any seizure by power, physical or otherwise. 8 (context farriery English) A scurfy of the back part of the hind leg of a horse. vb. 1 (context obsolete transitive English) To stop the motion of (a person or animal). (14th-19th c.) 2 (context obsolete intransitive English) To stay, remain. (14th-16th c.) 3 (context transitive English) To stop or slow (a process, course etc.). (from 14th c.) 4 (context transitive English) To seize (someone) with the authority of the law; to take into legal custody. (from 14th c.) 5 (context transitive English) To catch the attention of. (from 19th c.)

1. n. the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal); "the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar" [syn: apprehension, catch, collar, pinch, taking into custody]

2. the state of inactivity following an interruption; "the negotiations were in arrest"; "held them in check"; "during the halt he got some lunch"; "the momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow"; "he spent the entire stop in his seat" [syn: check, halt, hitch, stay, stop, stoppage]

3. v. take into custody; "the police nabbed the suspected criminals" [syn: collar, nail, apprehend, pick up, nab, cop]

4. hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of; "Arrest the downward trend"; "Check the growth of communism in Sout East Asia"; "Contain the rebel movement"; "Turn back the tide of communism" [syn: check, turn back, stop, contain, hold back]

5. attract and fix; "His look caught her"; "She caught his eye"; "Catch the attention of the waiter" [syn: catch, get]

6. cause to stop; "Halt the engines"; "Arrest the progress"; "halt the presses" [syn: halt, hold]

An arrest is the act of depriving people of their liberty, usually in relation to an investigation or prevention of a crime, and thus detaining the arrested person in a procedure as part of the criminal justice system.

Police and various other bodies have powers of arrest. In some places, the power is more general; for example in England and Wales, any person can arrest "anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be committing, have committed or be guilty of committing an indictable offence," although certain conditions must be met before taking such action.

Arrest may refer to:

• Arrest, the action of police or other authority to apprehend and take under guard a person who is suspected of committing a crime
• Arrested (Modern Family), an episode of the television series Modern Family
• Arrest, Somme, a commune of the Somme département in France
• Cardiac arrest, the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract effectively
• "The Arrest", a song by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice from the 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar
• An aircraft that uses a tailhook to bring it to a stop upon landing (either on a ship or land) is said to have made an " arrested landing" or an "arrestment."