这些单词均有逮捕或拘捕的含义。其中，apprehension和 arrest都是指刑事拘捕，可互换使用，apprehension是指将罪犯抓获并以拘禁[1] 。arrest则指对正在实施犯罪的人或被怀疑实施了犯罪的人进行的实际管束，尤指将某人拘押以送警察局进行刑事指控[2]。attachment多用于民事上的拘押，常指对债务人的人身进行拘捕以迫使其到庭解决债务纠纷[3]。seizure所指的拘捕有两种含义，一是达到arrest的程度；另一种则是短时间拘捕以讯问或调查（等同stop)。根据宪法规定，两种情况对逮捕令 (warrant)的要件要求也就不同[4]。
 
[1] "Capture a person on a criminal charge. ”Cf. Daphne Dukelow, The Dictionary of Canadian Law, at p. 53，Thomson Professional Publishing Canada (1991 ).
[2]“Any significant deprivation of an individual's freedom of action, especially the taking of an individual into custody for the purpose of transporting him to a police station and charging him with a crime." Cf. James E. Clapp, Random House Webster's Dictionary of the Law, at p. 35, Random House, New York (2000).
[3]“ The arrest of a person who either is in contempt of court or is to be held as security for the payment of a judgment. ” Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary, abridged 6th edition, at p. 123, West Publishing Co. (1991 ).“The taking into custody of a person to hold that person as security for the payment of a judgment" , Cf. Bryan A. Gamer, A Dictionary of Modem Legal Usage，2nd edition, at p. 88，Oxford University Press
(1995)
[4]“The seizure of a person (as for arrest or investigation). Not all seizures, however, require a warrant. A seizure that constitutes an arrest requires probable cause to be reasonable ,and a stop usu. requires reasonable suspicion of the particular person or persons stopped, although stops like those at drunk driving checkpoints may be justified by a plan that places explicit and neutral limitations on the conduct of police officers with no requirement of individualized suspicion. " Cf. Linda Picard Wood, J. D. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law, at p. 448， Merriam-Webster, Incorporated Springfield, Massachusetts
(1996).