apprehend
verb /ˌæprɪˈhend/
/ˌæprɪˈhend/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they apprehend | /ˌæprɪˈhend/ /ˌæprɪˈhend/ |
| he / she / it apprehends | /ˌæprɪˈhendz/ /ˌæprɪˈhendz/ |
| past simple apprehended | /ˌæprɪˈhendɪd/ /ˌæprɪˈhendɪd/ |
| past participle apprehended | /ˌæprɪˈhendɪd/ /ˌæprɪˈhendɪd/ |
| -ing form apprehending | /ˌæprɪˈhendɪŋ/ /ˌæprɪˈhendɪŋ/ |
- apprehend somebody (of the police) to catch somebody and arrest them
- The police apprehended an armed suspect near the scene of the crime.
- The thief was apprehended in the act of stealing a car.
- apprehend something (old-fashioned) to understand or recognize something
- He was slow to apprehend danger.
Word Originlate Middle English (originally in the sense ‘grasp, get hold of (physically or mentally)’): from French appréhender or Latin apprehendere, from ad- ‘towards’ + prehendere ‘lay hold of’.