impoundim‧pound /ɪmˈpaʊnd/ verb [transitive] law 
Word Origin Examples
He sued the police after they impounded his car.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINimpound
Verb TableOrigin:
1400-1500 ➔ POUND1 (2)VERB TABLE
impound
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | impound |
| he, she, it | impounds | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | impounded |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have impounded |
| he, she, it | has impounded | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had impounded |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will impound |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have impounded |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am impounding |
| he, she, it | is impounding | |
| you, we, they | are impounding | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was impounding |
| you, we, they | were impounding | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been impounding |
| he, she, it | has been impounding | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been impounding |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be impounding |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been impounding |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- After the rally several bikes were impounded by police.
- Police recovered both items, and impounded a black BMW from the murder scene.
- The act will give the government new rights to impound untaxed cars and crush them.
- The medical officer says that the animals will be impounded while tests are carried out.
- But Jack was having trouble raising his own, for much of his cash was also impounded.
- Instead of arresting a man caught with a hooker in his car, the police in Florence impound the motor.
- The judge rejected his request and ordered his written statement impounded.
- The president might also impound funds of his choosing, including Social Security.
- The shipment was impounded and formally seized last November.
- Truman was so angry that he impounded the first funds, but he gradually lost interest in the whole affair.
- With police help they impounded several of Wewe's boats full of turtles and launched an investigation.
Longman Language Activatorto take something from someone► take
if the police or law courts impound something you have or own, they keep it until it has been decided that you can have it back SYN confiscate: to take something out of someone's hands: · Let me take your bags -- you look exhausted.· Oh, mom, could you just take this for a second?· He took her coat, and hung it in the hall.take something from somebody: · He walked slowly across the room and took the gun from her.take something off somebody informal: · Can you take some of these books off me?
► grab/snatch to take something from someone with a sudden violent movement: · He just grabbed my camera and ran off with it.snatch/grab something from somebody/something: · Gerry snatched her diary from the desk, and she lunged to grab it back.snatch/grab something off somebody informal: · Paul grabbed the bag of sweets off his sister and ran away with it.
► take away to take something important from someone, such as a possession or a right, either as a punishment or in a way that is wrong or unfair: take away something: · Mom's threatened to take away my stereo if my schoolwork doesn't improve.· The new law would take away the rights of workers to go on strike.· That's stupid -- it's like teaching someone to read, then taking away all their books!take something away: · No, Eli, I'm taking it away now!take something away from somebody: · Even though Polly still needs it, the authorities have taken the wheelchair away from her.
► seize to take something such as drugs, guns, or documents from someone who is keeping them illegally or taking them from one place to another: · Police seized 53 weapons and made 42 arrests.· Over 52,000 E-tablets hidden in a car door were seized by customs officials.· Assets worth over $1 million were seized, along with documents relating to the company's financial dealings.
► impound to take something such as a car or an animal away from someone and keep it in a special place until they are officially allowed to have it back: · The act will give the government new rights to impound untaxed cars and crush them. · The medical officer says that the animals will be impounded while tests are carried out.· Police recovered both items, and impounded a black BMW from the murder scene.
► confiscate to officially take something away from someone, either as a punishment or because they are not allowed to have it: · Your vehicle can be confiscated if you are transporting marijuana.· The authorities will confiscate firearms found on a boat or plane if the owner cannot show proof of US licensing. confiscate something from somebody: · The group claims that billions of dollars in property and bank accounts was confiscated from Jewish businessmen in the Second World War.
► commandeer if the army or other military organization commandeers something such as a vehicle or a building, they take it away from the owners in order to use it in a war: · Bud's truck had been commandeered by the regiment.· The officers had commandeered every house in the area.· A paramilitary group attempted to commandeer the bus and take it to Madrid.
► deprive somebody to take away or not let someone have their rights, advantages etc, especially in a way that seems unfair: · Under Stalin, Soviet citizens were deprived of their most basic human rights.· The boy's parents claim the school's actions have effectively deprived their son of education.· Banning the carnival will deprive law-abiding citizens of a source of culturally valuable entertainment.
► strip somebody to completely take away someone's rights, responsibilities, or a prize they have won, especially as a punishment for doing something wrong: · The captain was stripped of his licence after the collision.· He was formally stripped of his American citizenship.· The ruling authority stripped him of his boxing title after he was convicted of importing heroin.· The court ruled that Learer's conviction did not constitute grounds for stripping her of custody of her four children.
He sued the police after they impounded his car.