dragnet
Other forms: dragnets
If you suddenly start noticing police officers around every corner, you might be watching a dragnet in progress. A dragnet is a coordinated attempt to catch a criminal.
Dragnet originally referred to a kind of net for catching fish. It can now also indicate a less literal type of net: one that catches crooks. Police may use a dragnet if they know a wanted criminal is in a certain neighborhood. When cops set up a dragnet, they may call in extra officers, fence off areas from civilians, and arm themselves heavily. This word became famous because of the TV show Dragnet, which featured Sergeant Joe Friday.
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Vocabulary lists containing dragnet
Using trial manuscripts, archival materials, and interviews following President Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Swanson details the wild twelve-day chase to capture John Wilkes Booth.
In this riveting nonfiction account, Marc Favreau explores the role of espionage in the Cold War.
This nonfiction narrative traces how Leonardo da Vinci's 16th-century painting of an ordinary Italian wife and mother became the most recognizable face in the world.