house arrest

noun

Synonyms of house arrestnext
: confinement often under guard to one's house or quarters instead of in prison

Examples of house 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.
Flávio is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year and three-month sentence under house arrest for plotting a coup d’état after losing the 2022 presidential election. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026 He has been moved from prison to house arrest for health reasons. — Mauricio Savarese, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 Following the convictions for mortgage fraud and perjury, Mosby was sentenced in May 2024 to three years of probation and one year of house arrest. — CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026 Jair Bolsonaro, now under humanitarian house arrest for health reasons, is barred from running and is serving a 27-year sentence after being convicted of attempting a coup to overturn his 2022 election loss. — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for house arrest

Word History

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of house arrest was in 1810

Rhymes for house arrest

See All Rhymes for house arrest

Browse Nearby Words

house ant
house arrest
house board
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“House arrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/house%20arrest. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on house arrest

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for house arrest

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All