Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use arrest in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Arrest means a check; a stop; an act or instance of arresting something. Example: “State police made a total of 15 drug-related arrests across the city.”

Examples of arrest by meaning

nounThe condition of being stopped, standstill.

  • cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest

nounThe process of arresting a criminal, suspect etc.

  • State police made a total of 15 drug-related arrests across the city.

verbTo stop the motion of (a person, animal, or body part).

  • 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

verbTo stop or slow (a process, course etc.).

  • To try to arrest the spiral of violence, I contacted Chief Buthelezi to arrange a meeting.1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 707

verbTo seize (someone) with the authority of the law; to take into legal custody.

  • The police have arrested a suspect in the murder inquiry.
  • The suspect merchant ship has been arrested by customs officers.
  • The policeman who arrests the "Red" does not understand the theories the "Red" is preaching; if he did, his own position as bodyguard of the monied class might seem less pleasant to him.1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I

verbTo catch the attention of.

  • There is something about this picture—something bold and vigorous, which arrests the attention.1919: P. G. Wodehouse, My Man Jeeves

verbTo undergo cardiac arrest.

  • Realizing the mistake immediately from the outline of the RCA on the fluoroscope screen, he rapidly removed the catheter – just as his patient arrested.2004, Euan A. Ashley, Josef Niebauer, Cardiology Explained, page 66

More sentences with arrest

  • Police arrested the head of the gang in a raid last night.From the entry head
  • Once arrested, I realized that handcuffs are concrete, even if my concept of what is legal wasn't.From the entry concrete
  • The man was arrested for touching a girl without her consent.From the entry touch
  • She's being taken to the police car now , so they must be going to arrest her.From the entry must
  • The heat from her family after her DUI arrest was unbearable.From the entry heat
  • Since his arrest, the mob boss has exchanged a mansion for a jail cell.From the entry exchange
  • Somebody dimed on me and I got arrested for selling marijuana.From the entry dime
  • Among the arrests is a man charged with possession of stolen goods, to wit: 50 beer crates.From the entry to wit
  • A suspect was arrested for the theft of a gold necklace.From the entry theft
  • Innocent people who are arrested become fodder for the justice system.From the entry fodder
  • He was arrested for trying to cash a bogus check at the bank.From the entry bogus
  • An arrest shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this Act.From the entry provision
  • After his arrest, the officer was decommissioned from the police force.From the entry decommission
  • Predictably he returned to the scene of his crime, where the police were waiting to arrest him.From the entry predictably
  • They were arrested and charged in connection with multiple shimming incidents.From the entry shimming
  • The police arrested the man who had exposed himself in public.From the entry expose oneself
  • It took the police an hour to arrest the whole streetful of rioters.From the entry streetful
  • The police arrested the wrong man; the media reported it as a case of mistaken identity.From the entry mistaken identity
  • Luis got arrested for voluntary manslaughter when he fatally struck Jimmy in a barfight.From the entry voluntary manslaughter
  • The police arrested him on the strength of some rather flimsy evidence.From the entry on the strength of
  • "Thomas just got arrested for shoplifting." "Well, I'll go to the foot of the stairs!"From the entry I'll go to the foot of the stairs
  • Three people were arrested after a skirmish in a bar.From the entry skirmish
  • The owner of the nightclub was arrested.From the entry of
  • The arrest was standard, when suddenly the suspect broke ugly.From the entry break
  • David was arrested for illegal possession of firearms.From the entry firearm
  • After his arrest, his prospects went to pot.From the entry pot
  • The gunrunners were arrested leaving the airport.From the entry runner
  • There was some kind of fiddle going on at that company, and several of the directors were arrested.From the entry fiddle
  • The official was arrested on charges of bribery.From the entry bribery
  • Cardiac arrest is an emergency requiring medical attention.From the entry emergency
  • He was arrested for driving while underage.From the entry underage

Meaning of arrest

  1. noun A check; a stop; an act or instance of arresting something.
  2. noun The condition of being stopped, standstill.
  3. noun The process of arresting a criminal, suspect etc.

Full definition of arrest

Questions about arrest in a sentence

How do you use arrest in a sentence?
Arrest is used as a noun and verb. For example: “State police made a total of 15 drug-related arrests across the city.”
What is a short sentence with arrest?
“cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest”
What does arrest mean?
Arrest means a check; a stop; an act or instance of arresting something.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: arrest (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “How to use arrest in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/arrest. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.