Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

sequester

/sɪˈkwɛs.tə/ verb

Latin root: sequestrō Wiktionary

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about sequester at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Requisition forcibly, as of enemy property.
the estate was sequestered
Take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority.
The FBI seized the drugs
Undergo sequestration by forming a stable compound with an ion.
The cations were sequestered

Origin

From Middle English sequestren (verb) and sequestre (noun), from Old French sequestrer, from Late Latin sequestrō (“separate, give up for safekeeping”), from Latin sequester (“mediator, depositary”), probably originally meaning "follower", from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“follow”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word