citizen's arrest

noun

: an arrest made not by a law officer but by a citizen who derives authority from the fact of being a citizen

Examples of citizen's arrest in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Sheriff's deputies arrived in the neighborhood following the citizen's arrest. —

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 6 Feb. 2025 White and his neighbors decided to make a citizen's arrest. —

Caroline Thayer, Fox News, 15 Jan. 2025 Gardner was injured during the citizen's arrest and admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he is being guarded by police and will be booked in a Davidson County Jail on criminal homicide charges when he is released, police said. —

Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean, 15 Nov. 2024 The woman, who was checked out by medical personnel, made a citizen's arrest, which led officers to book Killer Mike on suspicion of battery, multiple law enforcement sources had said. —

Andrew Blankstein, NBC News, 1 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for citizen's arrest

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of citizen's arrest was in 1940

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Citizen's arrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citizen%27s%20arrest. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.

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