dragnet

Meanings

1. A net dragged across the bottom of a body of water.
2. A heightened effort by law enforcement personnel undertaken in order to capture suspects.

1. To drag a net across the bottom of a body of water.
2. To undertake a heightened effort to catch a suspect.

Etymology

From drag + net, probably based on the model of Middle English draynet, dreynett (“dragnet”), Old English dræġnet, dræġnett (“dragnet”), equivalent to dray + net. Cognate with Swedish dragnät, Norwegian dragnett, from Icelandic dragnet.