sequester

/sɪˈkwɛstər/

verb

  1. to keep a person or group isolated or apart from others, often for protection or to prevent outside influence

    C1

    transitive; often passiveformal

    • "The jury was sequestered during the trial to avoid outside influence."B2
    • "After the scandal, the actor sequestered himself in a remote cabin to avoid the press."C1

  2. to take legal possession of someone's property temporarily, usually until a debt or claim is settled

    C2

    transitivelegal, formal

    • "The court ordered the company's assets to be sequestered until the dispute was resolved."

  3. to capture and store something, especially carbon dioxide, so that it does not enter the atmosphere

    C2

    transitivetechnical

    • "Forests sequester large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere."C1

noun

  1. A cut or reduction in spending, especially an automatic one imposed by law when budgets are not agreed.

    C2

    countableUS, politics

    • "The sequester forced across-the-board cuts to many federal programs."C1

Common mistakes

  • The jury was sequestrated during the trial.→The jury was sequestered during the trial.

    The verb is 'sequester'. 'Sequestrate' exists but is a legal term, chiefly British, for seizing property, and is not the usual word for isolating a jury.

  • The company sequestered the carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.→The company sequestered the carbon dioxide away from the atmosphere.

    To sequester means to isolate or store something away, so it is used with 'from' or 'away from', not 'to'.

Collocations

sequester a jurysequester carbonsequester oneselfcarbon sequestrationsequestered awaysequester assetssequester witnesses

Word family

sequestrationsequesteredsequesteringsequestratesequestrator