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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
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.
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Andrew Blankstein, NBC News, 1 July 2024
According to the defense, the three men were attempting a citizen's arrest when Travis, initially with his father and then joined by Bryan, chased Arbery and corralled him with their respective pickups before the scuffle in which Travis shot Arbery three times.
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Kate Hogan, Peoplemag, 21 Apr. 2023
The incident occurred around 2 a.m. and the suspect was placed under citizen's arrest by a staff member near the home's service entrance, the spokesperson said.
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Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 17 May 2023
Defense attorneys say the McMichaels, suspecting Arbery of burglary, tried to conduct a citizen's arrest.
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CNN, 22 Nov. 2021
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'citizen's arrest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1940, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to citizen's arrest
Dictionary Entries Near citizen's arrest
Cite this Entry
“Citizen's arrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citizen%27s%20arrest. Accessed 22 Aug. 2024.
Legal Definition
citizen's arrest
see arrest
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