apprehend

apprehend
ap‧pre‧hend /ˌæprɪˈhend/ verb [transitive]1. formal if the police apprehend a criminal, they catch him or her
   SYN  arrest:
    The police have failed to apprehend the culprits.
2. old-fashioned to understand something:
    They were slow to apprehend the danger.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ catch to stop someone who is trying to escape, especially by running after them and then holding them: He raced after her, but he couldn’t catch her. | The police caught the bank robbers after a car chase through the city.
   ▪ arrest if the police arrest someone, they take him or her to a police station because they think that person has done something illegal: Wayne was arrested for dangerous driving. | The police arrested him and charged him with murder.
   ▪ apprehend formal if the police apprehend someone they think has done something illegal, they catch him or her: The two men were later apprehended after they robbed another store. | The killers were never apprehended. | All of the kidnappers were apprehended and convicted.
   ▪ capture to catch an enemy or a criminal in order to keep them as a prisoner: The French king was captured by the English at the battle of Poitiers in 1356. | The gunmen were finally captured after a shoot-out with the police.
   ▪ take somebody prisoner to catch someone, especially in a war, in order to keep them as a prisoner: 350 soldiers were killed and another 300 taken prisoner. | Ellison was taken prisoner by the Germans during the retreat to Dunkirk.
   ▪ trap to make someone go to a place from which they cannot escape, especially by using your skill and intelligence: Police trapped the man inside a bar on the city’s southside.
   ▪ corner to force someone into a place from which they cannot escape: He was cornered outside the school by three gang members.