sequestration

American  

[see-kwes-trey-shuhn, si-kwes-] / ˌsi kwɛsˈtreɪ ʃən, sɪ kwɛs- /

noun

1. removal or separation; banishment or exile.

2. a withdrawal into seclusion; retirement.

3. segregation from others; isolation.

   sequestration of jurors during a trial.

4. Law.

   1. the sequestering of property.

   2. confiscation or seizure.

5. Chemistry. the combining of metallic ions with a suitable reagent into a stable, soluble complex in order to prevent the ions from combining with a substance with which they would otherwise have formed an insoluble precipitate, from causing interference in a particular reaction, or from acting as undesirable catalysts.

6. the trapping of a chemical in the atmosphere or environment and its isolation in a natural or artificial storage area.

   Carbon sequestration can reduce global warming.

7. 1. the process of implementing an automatic cut in government spending across most departments, agencies, etc..

      efforts to avoid or delay sequestration.

   2. an instance of this.

      An $80 billion sequestration would lead to massive layoffs.

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sequestration British  

/ ˌsiːkwɛˈstreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of sequestering or state of being sequestered

2. law the sequestering of property

3. chem the effective removal of ions from a solution by coordination with another type of ion or molecule to form complexes that do not have the same chemical behaviour as the original ions See also sequestrant

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Other Word Forms

• nonsequestration noun

Etymology

Origin of sequestration

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin sequestrātiōn- (stem of sequestrātiō ), equivalent to sequestrāt ( us ) (past participle of sequestrāre to sequester ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

More recently, Weyerhaeuser programmed computers to sift through property attributes to identify opportunities for wind and solar power installations and carbon sequestration projects.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

The farm also collects quantifiable data for soil carbon sequestration.

From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025

The latest research looked at data stretching back to the 1920s to quantify this carbon storage, also called carbon sequestration.

From BBC • Jul. 4, 2025

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing CO2 and preventing it from entering the atmosphere by storing it underground, in aquifers or other geologic formations.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2025

Today, all those who have not had the smallpox were removed for inoculation and sequestration in the hospital.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson