dragnet

[ drag-net ]

noun

1. a net to be drawn along the bottom of a river, pond, etc., or along the ground, to catch fish, small game, etc.
2. a system or network for finding or catching someone, as a criminal wanted by the police.

dragnet

/ ˈdræɡˌnɛt /

noun

1. a heavy or weighted net used to scour the bottom of a pond, river, etc, as when searching for something
2. any system of coordinated efforts by police forces to track down wanted persons

Word History and Origins

Origin of dragnet¹

Middle English word dating back to 1535–45; drag, net ¹, dray

Example Sentences

It’s especially jarring to read that a foreign government’s potential data collection supposedly justifies banning an app, given Congress’s recent renewal of an authority — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act— under which the U.S. government itself collects massive amounts of Americans’ communications, a warrantless digital dragnet which the FBI immediately directed its agents to abuse yet again.

From Salon

Ukraine has taken steps to root out corruption, and a dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

From Seattle Times

Among Coleman’s other films were “North Dallas Forty,” “Cloak and Dagger,” “Dragnet,” “Meet the Applegates,” “Inspector Gadget” and “Stuart Little.”

From Seattle Times

In October, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the search of Google users’ keyword history, an approach that critics have called a digital dragnet that threatens to undermine people’s privacy and their constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

From Seattle Times

A statewide dragnet for organizers from the Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies, ensued, followed by hundreds of arrests.

From Los Angeles Times