verb (used with object)
- to shut up in a pound or other enclosure, as a stray animal.
- to confine within an enclosure or within limits: water impounded in a reservoir.
- to seize and retain in custody of the law, as a document for evidence.
noun
- money, property, etc., that has been impounded: a sale of impounds by the police department.
verb (tr)
- to confine (stray animals, illegally parked cars, etc) in a pound
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- to seize (chattels, etc) by legal right
- to take possession of (a document, evidence, etc) and hold in legal custody
- to collect (water) in a reservoir or dam, as for irrigation
- to seize or appropriate
early 15c., “to shut up in a pen or pound,” from assimilated form of in- “into, in” (see in- (2)) + pound (n.). Originally of cattle seized by law. Related: Impounded; impounding.