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   se·ques·ter

   /səˈkwestər/

   verb

   • 1. isolate or hide away: "Tiberius was sequestered on an island" Similar isolate oneselfhide oneself awayshut oneself awayseclude oneselfcut/shut oneself offset oneself apartsegregate oneselfcloset oneselfwithdraw oneselfremove oneselfretire
   • 2. take legal possession of (assets) until a debt has been paid or other claims have been met: "the power of courts to sequester the assets of unions"
   • ▪ take forcible possession of (something); confiscate: "rebel property was sequestered and a military government installed"
   • ▪ legally place (the property of a bankrupt) in the hands of a trustee for division among the creditors: "a trustee in a sequestered estate"
   • 3. form a chelate or other stable compound with (an ion, atom, or molecule) so that it is no longer available for reactions: "non-precipitating water softeners use complex phosphates to sequester calcium and magnesium ions"

   noun

   • 1. a general cut in government spending: US "if the budget deal hadn't gone through, there would have been a sequester of at least $100 billion"

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Old French sequestrer or late Latin sequestrare ‘commit for safekeeping’, from Latin sequester ‘trustee’.

   Scrabble Points: 18

   • S

     1

   • E

     1

   • Q

     10

   • U

     1

   • E

     1

   • S

     1

   • T

     1

   • E

     1

   • R

     1

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