arrestar

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *arrestāre, from Latin ad- (“to”) + restō (“to stop, remain behind, stay back”), from re- (“back”) + stō (“to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“stand”). Compare Occitan arrestar and French arrêter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ə.rəsˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.resˈtaɾ]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)
• Hyphenation: a‧rres‧tar

Verb

arrestar (first-person singular present arresto, first-person singular preterite arrestí, past participle arrestat); root stress: (Central, Valencia, Balearic) /e/

1. to arrest

Conjugation

    Conjugation of arrestar (first conjugation)

infinitive			arrestar
gerund			arrestant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		arrestat		arrestada
		plural		arrestats		arrestades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	arresto	arrestes	arresta	arrestem	arresteu	arresten
	imperfect	arrestava	arrestaves	arrestava	arrestàvem	arrestàveu	arrestaven
	future	arrestaré	arrestaràs	arrestarà	arrestarem	arrestareu	arrestaran
	preterite	arrestí	arrestares	arrestà	arrestàrem	arrestàreu	arrestaren
	conditional	arrestaria	arrestaries	arrestaria	arrestaríem	arrestaríeu	arrestarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	arresti	arrestis	arresti	arrestem	arresteu	arrestin
	imperfect	arrestés	arrestessis	arrestés	arrestéssim	arrestéssiu	arrestessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	arresta	arresti	arrestem	arresteu	arrestin
	negative (no)	—	no arrestis	no arresti	no arrestem	no arresteu	no arrestin

Related terms

• arrest

Further reading

• “arrestar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “arrestar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “arrestar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “arrestar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

arrestar m

1. indefinite plural of arrest

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan arrestar, from Vulgar Latin *arrestō, *arrestare, from Latin ad- (“to”) + restō (“I stop, remain behind, stay back”), from re- (“back”) + stō (“I stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“stand”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Verb

arrestar

1. (transitive) to stop
2. (transitive) to arrest

Conjugation

    Lengadocian (Central Occitan)

		simple			compound
infinitive		arrestar			aver arrestat
gerund		arrestant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		arrestat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	arrèsti	arrèsti	arrèsta	arrestam	arrestatz	arrèstan
	imperfect	arrestavi	arrestavas	arrestava	arrestàvem	arrestàvetz	arrestan
	preterite	arrestèri	arrestères	arrestèt	arrestèrem	arrestèretz	arrestèron
	future	arrestarai	arrestaràs	arrestarà	arrestarem	arrestaretz	arrestaràn
	conditional	arrestariái	arrestariás	arrestariá	arrestariam	arrestariatz	arrestarián
	conditional 2nd form1	arrestèra	arrestèras	arrestèra	arresteram	arresteratz	arrestèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	arrèste	arrèstes	arrèste	arrestem	arrestetz	arrèsten
	imperfect	arrestèsse	arrestèsses	arrestèsse	arrestèssem	arrestèssetz	arrestèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			arrèsta		arrestem	arrestatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese, from Vulgar Latin *arrestāre, from Latin ad- (“to”) + restō (“to stop, remain behind, stay back”), from re- (“back”) + stō (“to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“stand”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.ʁesˈta(ʁ)/ [a.hesˈta(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.ʁesˈta(ʁ)/ [a.hesˈta(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /a.ʁesˈta(ɾ)/ [a.hesˈta(ɾ)]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /a.ʁeʃˈta(ʁ)/ [a.χeʃˈta(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /a.ʁesˈta(ɻ)/ [a.hesˈta(ɻ)]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.ʁɨʃˈtaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.ʁɨʃˈtaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.ʁɨʃˈta.ɾi/

Verb

arrestar (first-person singular present arresto, first-person singular preterite arrestei, past participle arrestado)

1. (law, transitive) to sequester the assets of a debtor, in order to ensure that they pay the debt
2. (archaic, transitive) to seize or confiscate

Conjugation

    Conjugation of arrestar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	arrestar
Personal	arrestar	arrestares	arrestar	arrestarmos	arrestardes	arrestarem
Gerund
	arrestando
Past participle
Masculine	arrestado			arrestados
Feminine	arrestada			arrestadas
Indicative
Present	arresto	arrestas	arresta	arrestamos	arrestais	arrestam
Imperfect	arrestava	arrestavas	arrestava	arrestávamos	arrestáveis	arrestavam
Preterite	arrestei	arrestaste	arrestou	arrestamos1, arrestámos2	arrestastes	arrestaram
Pluperfect	arrestara	arrestaras	arrestara	arrestáramos	arrestáreis	arrestaram
Future	arrestarei	arrestarás	arrestará	arrestaremos	arrestareis	arrestarão
Conditional	arrestaria	arrestarias	arrestaria	arrestaríamos	arrestaríeis	arrestariam
Subjunctive
Present	arreste	arrestes	arreste	arrestemos	arresteis	arrestem
Imperfect	arrestasse	arrestasses	arrestasse	arrestássemos	arrestásseis	arrestassem
Future	arrestar	arrestares	arrestar	arrestarmos	arrestardes	arrestarem
Imperative
Affirmative		arresta	arreste	arrestemos	arrestai	arrestem
Negative (não)		não arrestes	não arreste	não arrestemos	não arresteis	não arrestem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Derived terms

• arrestante
• arresto

Further reading

• “arrestar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “arrestar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *arrestāre (see there for more), possibly via a Gallo-Romance intermediate, hence the lack of diphthongization in rhizotonic conjugations.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aresˈtaɾ/ [a.resˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧rres‧tar

Verb

arrestar (first-person singular present arresto, first-person singular preterite arresté, past participle arrestado)

1. to arrest

   Synonym: detener

   • 2025 November 26, “Juez federal dice que los oficiales de inmigración en Colorado solo pueden arrestar a quienes corren el riesgo de huir”, in CNN en Español‎^[1], sourced from Associated Press:

     Un juez federal dictaminó el martes que los oficiales de inmigración en Colorado solo pueden arrestar a personas sin una orden judicial si creen que es probable que esas personas huyan.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of arrestar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			arrestar
gerund			arrestando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		arrestado		arrestada
		plural		arrestados		arrestadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	arresto	arrestastú arrestásvos	arresta	arrestamos	arrestáis	arrestan
	imperfect	arrestaba	arrestabas	arrestaba	arrestábamos	arrestabais	arrestaban
	preterite	arresté	arrestaste	arrestó	arrestamos	arrestasteis	arrestaron
	future	arrestaré	arrestarás	arrestará	arrestaremos	arrestaréis	arrestarán
	conditional	arrestaría	arrestarías	arrestaría	arrestaríamos	arrestaríais	arrestarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	arreste	arrestestú arrestésvos2	arreste	arrestemos	arrestéis	arresten
	imperfect (ra)	arrestara	arrestaras	arrestara	arrestáramos	arrestarais	arrestaran
	imperfect (se)	arrestase	arrestases	arrestase	arrestásemos	arrestaseis	arrestasen
	future1	arrestare	arrestares	arrestare	arrestáremos	arrestareis	arrestaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		arrestatú arrestávos	arreste	arrestemos	arrestad	arresten
	negative		no arrestes	no arreste	no arrestemos	no arrestéis	no arresten

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of arrestar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive arrestar	dative	arrestarme	arrestarte	arrestarle, arrestarse	arrestarnos	arrestaros	arrestarles, arrestarse
	accusative	arrestarme	arrestarte	arrestarlo, arrestarla, arrestarse	arrestarnos	arrestaros	arrestarlos, arrestarlas, arrestarse
with gerund arrestando	dative	arrestándome	arrestándote	arrestándole, arrestándose	arrestándonos	arrestándoos	arrestándoles, arrestándose
	accusative	arrestándome	arrestándote	arrestándolo, arrestándola, arrestándose	arrestándonos	arrestándoos	arrestándolos, arrestándolas, arrestándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative arresta	dative	arréstame	arréstate	arréstale	arréstanos	not used	arréstales
	accusative	arréstame	arréstate	arréstalo, arréstala	arréstanos	not used	arréstalos, arréstalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative arrestá	dative	arrestame	arrestate	arrestale	arrestanos	not used	arrestales
	accusative	arrestame	arrestate	arrestalo, arrestala	arrestanos	not used	arrestalos, arrestalas
with formal second-person singular imperative arreste	dative	arrésteme	not used	arréstele, arréstese	arréstenos	not used	arrésteles
	accusative	arrésteme	not used	arréstelo, arréstela, arréstese	arréstenos	not used	arréstelos, arréstelas
with first-person plural imperative arrestemos	dative	not used	arrestémoste	arrestémosle	arrestémonos	arrestémoos	arrestémosles
	accusative	not used	arrestémoste	arrestémoslo, arrestémosla	arrestémonos	arrestémoos	arrestémoslos, arrestémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative arrestad	dative	arrestadme	not used	arrestadle	arrestadnos	arrestaos	arrestadles
	accusative	arrestadme	not used	arrestadlo, arrestadla	arrestadnos	arrestaos	arrestadlos, arrestadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative arresten	dative	arréstenme	not used	arréstenle	arréstennos	not used	arréstenles, arréstense
	accusative	arréstenme	not used	arréstenlo, arréstenla	arréstennos	not used	arréstenlos, arréstenlas, arréstense

Derived terms

• arresto

Related terms

• restar

Further reading

• “arrestar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025