What does arrestee mean?
An arrestee is a person who has been placed under arrest by police or another lawful authority. The word belongs to a family of legal terms built with the '-ee' suffix, which marks the person acted upon rather than the one acting: just as an employer hires an employee, an arresting officer takes an arrestee into custody. The term is standard in law enforcement procedures, court records, and crime reporting, where it denotes someone at the earliest stage of the justice process — booked, fingerprinted, and informed of their rights, but not necessarily charged or convicted. Because arrest does not imply guilt, the word is deliberately neutral in connotation, making it useful in contexts that require precision without prejudgment. Related but broader terms include detainee, which covers people held for reasons beyond criminal arrest.
nounA person who has been arrested by police or other legal authorities, especially one in custody or being processed within the criminal justice system.
- A person who has been taken into custody by legal authority following an arrest.
"The officer read the arrestee his rights before placing him in the patrol car."
"Police photographed and fingerprinted each arrestee at the station."
"Legal aid lawyers met with every arrestee held overnight at the county jail."
Regular plural; frequently used collectively when discussing groups processed during protests or mass arrests.
"Several arrestees were released without charge after questioning."
The '-ee' suffix flips the power dynamic: an arrestOR makes the arrest, and the arrestEE is on the receiving end of it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of arrestee
Arrestee combines 'arrest' with the suffix '-ee', which English adopted through Anglo-Norman legal usage from French past-participle forms ending in '-é' (from Latin '-atus'). The root verb 'arrest' itself derives from Old French 'arester', from Vulgar Latin '*arrestare', built on Latin 'ad-' ('to') plus 'restare' ('to stand back, remain'), so etymologically an arrest is a 'stopping in place'. The '-ee' pattern flourished in Anglo-American legal English from the Middle Ages onward, producing paired agent/patient terms such as lessor/lessee and arrestor/arrestee; 'arrestee' as a distinct noun is attested by the early 20th century.
How arrestee is actually used
Formal to neutral register, used chiefly in law enforcement, legal, and journalistic contexts; it carries no inherent judgment of guilt — an arrestee may later be released without charge.
Easily confused with arrestee
A detainee is anyone held in custody (including for immigration, military, or security reasons), whereas an arrestee specifically is someone who has been formally arrested on suspicion of a crime.