impound

English

Etymology

From im- +‎ pound.

Pronunciation

• (verb) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpaʊ̯nd/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈɪmpaʊ̯nd/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊnd

Verb

impound (third-person singular simple present impounds, present participle impounding, simple past and past participle impounded)

1. (transitive) To shut up or place in an enclosure called a pound.

   His car was impounded after he parked it illegally.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Noveria:

     Noveria Approach Control: Landing access granted, Normandy.
     Noveria Approach Control: Be advised: we will be confirming identification on arrival. If confirmation cannot be established, your vessel will be impounded.

2. (transitive) To hold back.

   water impounded by a dam

3. (transitive, law) To hold in the custody of a court or its delegate.

   to impound stray cattle

   to impound a document for safekeeping.

   • 1963 September, “New Books: The Locomotives of the South Eastern Railway”, in Modern Railways, page 216:

     I particularly enjoyed the tale of the Folkestone tank engine, which, in October, 1886, was impounded by H. M. Customs after smuggled brandy was found concealed in its coal bunker; the tank spent over a month in a harbour siding under Customs seal and proceedings were seriously contemplated against the S.E.R., as well as against the crew, for the engine's part in the affair.

   • 2024 March 4, Kate Connolly, “German prosecutors urge Red Army Faction suspects to surrender”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     The container thought to have belonged to Garweg was impounded by police and removed from the site by the Federal Agency for Protective Relief (THW) on Sunday and taken for further examination.

4. (transitive, law, banking) To collect and hold (funds) for payment of property taxes and insurance on property in which one has a security interest.

Derived terms

• impoundment

Translations

to shut up or place in an inclosure called a pound

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蓄水 (zh) (xùshuǐ)

• Georgian: ჩაკეტვა (čaḳeṭva), ჩარაზმვა (čarazmva)
• Maori: pāuna, tōkiāri
• Russian: запира́ть (ru) n (zapirátʹ), заточа́ть (ru) n (zatočátʹ)
• Spanish: encerrar (es)

to hold back

• Spanish: retener (es)

to hold in the custody of a court or its delegate

• Catalan: confiscar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 拘留 (zh) (jūliú)

• Dutch: confisqueren (nl), in beslag nemen
• Finnish: takavarikoida (fi)
• French: confisquer (fr)
• Georgian: კონფისკაცია (ḳonpisḳacia)
• German: beschlagnahmen (de), konfiszieren (de)
• Italian: requisire (it), sequestrare (it)
• Luxembourgish: beschlagnahmen
• Maori: taumanu, tōkiāri
• Russian: конфискова́ть (ru) (konfiskovátʹ)
• Slovak: skonfiškovať, konfiškovať, zhabať
• Spanish: confiscar (es), incautar (es), requisar (es)

Noun

impound (countable and uncountable, plural impounds)

1. A place in which impounded things are stored.
   • 1997, Edward Bunker, Dog Eat Dog‎^[2], page 36:

     "You're gonna drive me to the impound so I can get my car?"

2. (uncountable) The state of being impounded.
   • 2010, Neal Locke, No Plan‎^[3], page 161:

     I already checked that out, and Keller has never called to get it out of impound.

3. That which has been impounded.
   • 2002, James E. Wollrab, Malfeasance‎^[4], page 190:

     He handed the keys to the woman and pointed toward the corner of the lot where the impounds were stored.

4. (law, banking) Amounts collected from a debtor and held by one with a security interest in property for payment of property taxes and insurance.

See also

• escrow