House Arrest Definition & Meaning

American

British

Cultural

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms house arrest American

noun

1. confinement of an arrested person to their residence or to a public place, such as a hospital, instead of in a jail.

   He was under house arrest until the day of his trial.

house arrest British

noun

1. confinement to one's own home

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 house arrest Cultural

1. Forcible detention in one's house rather than in a prison. House arrest is used by some nations as a way to silence political dissent without the elaborate trials and criminal proceedings that would bring bad publicity.

Etymology

Origin of house arrest

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He has been under house arrest until shortly before the start of his prison term in November.

From Barron's

Before long, she was placed under house arrest.

From BBC

Also on Saturday, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered the house arrest of 10 officials for participating in his coup attempt.

From BBC

On Monday, the court rejected his application to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

From BBC

Earlier, he had been under preventive house arrest between August and November, but was sent to prison a few days ahead of schedule because he tried to damage his electronic ankle bracelet.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.