How to Use confiscate in a Sentence

confiscate

verb
  • The teacher confiscated all cell phones for the duration of the field trip.
  • Guards confiscated knives and other weapons from the prisoners.
  • So at some moment there’d be a knock on the door and their guns would be confiscated.
    — ArsTechnica, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Each of their cell phones were confiscated by police, the records say.
    — Harry Harris, Mercury News, 1 May 2026
  • The regime confiscated all of his assets last week.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
  • The gun was then confiscated and the woman was cited on a weapons charge.
    — C Mandler, CBS News, 26 Dec. 2023
  • The city began to confiscate the weapons the same day, Chaffin said.
    — Olivia Mitchell, cleveland, 10 Jan. 2023
  • Some observers took photos, which the police did their best to confiscate.
    — Greg Daugherty, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Aug. 2022
  • The boats were seized, the catch was confiscated by the government.
    — Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
  • Dude confiscated it for greenbacks, melted it down, and buried it?
    — Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
  • These items can be confiscated and destroyed by the police.
    — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Both her parents were questioned and their cell phones confiscated for a review.
    — Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The victims had had their passports and phones confiscated.
    — Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • When police came back with the search warrant to confiscate the dogs, Gibson and his pets were gone.
    — Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2025
  • PoS, on the other hand, threatens to confiscate funds from bad actors.
    — Sean Stein Smith, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2022
  • Your lovely large bottles of liquids might have to be confiscated.
    — Alex Ledsom, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
  • Cheung has since been released on bail, though his passport was confiscated.
    — Chad De Guzman, Time, 5 Dec. 2025
  • After the first offence, a device is confiscated until the end of the school day.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 26 May 2026
  • The device is confiscated until the end of the day after a first offense.
    — Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Federal agents confiscated his cell phone last year.
    — Vivian Jones, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Several of the weapons were found to be loaded when police confiscated the items.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Health inspectors also confiscated more than five tons of food.
    — James Taylor, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Jihan didn’t have a phone—guards confiscate them during raids—and her tent lacked electricity.
    — Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
  • Laws need to be changed to permit vehicles to be confiscated and auctioned off to the public.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Roads and businesses had to be closed, one person was shot and more than 70 firearms were confiscated.
    — Lawrence Specker | , al, 20 Mar. 2023
  • Last year, police confiscated more than 100 guns in the area, Spencer said.
    — James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Mar. 2024
  • Deputies confiscated both items.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2025
  • He once got caught with a knife, but correctional officers didn't confiscate it.
    — Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 4 Nov. 2025
  • In all, 299 plants were confiscated.
    — Allen Devlin, CBS News, 13 May 2026
  • They’re not allowed on airplanes and TSA will confiscate them.
    — Alisha McDarris, Popular Science, 13 Dec. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'confiscate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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