Spanish Conversation · Level 132
45 words
Spanish word
arrestar
Pronunciation
IPA/aresˈtaɾ/
Meaning
- verbarrest
Example
¿Por qué arrestaron a mi amigo?
Why did they arrest my friend?
More examples
La policía intentó arrestar al hombre en el parque.
The police tried to arrest the man in the park.
Core concept
Handcuffs placed on a person's wrists as an authority takes them away.
Common phrases
arrestar a alguien
arrest someone
arrestar al sospechoso
arrest the suspect
Similar words
detener: Bring a person or vehicle to an immediate stop and hold the person in place.
capturar: Catch up to and seize a fleeing person or animal.
prender: Grab and restrain someone by hand or with a device.
retener: Temporarily prevent a person from leaving a place.
Definition in Spanish
Privar de alguien de su libertad mediante la intervención de la policía u otra autoridad, habitualmente para investigar o procesar un delito.
Word origin
Spanish arrestar traces to Old French arester and Latin restare, whose shift from 'remain' to 'hold in place' produced the modern sense 'to detain'.
Usage tips
- Arrestar is generally literal rather than figurative in Spanish, so it refers to actual detention and not the metaphorical 'arrest' of progress used in English.
Other meanings
- detainverb
Opposites
- liberarreleaseverb
Related words
- arrestoarrestnoun
- arrestadoarrestedadjective