sequester
/sɪˈkwɛs.tɚ/verb, noun
sequester is spelled S-E-Q-U-E-S-T-E-R: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, sequester means “To separate from all external influence; to seclude; to withdraw” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sequester?
| Letters | 9: S-E-Q-U-E-S-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 50,539th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sequester?
Sequester appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sequester?
- UK /sɪˈkwɛs.tə/
- UK /səˈkwɛs.tə/
- US /sɪˈkwɛs.tɚ/
Sequester has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sequester.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sequester?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sequester from its last stressed vowel (/ɛstəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sequester
- sequesters present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- sequestering participle, present
- sequestered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sequester mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To separate from all external influence; to seclude; to withdraw.
The jury was sequestered from the press by the judge's order.
- 2
To separate in order to store.
The coal burning plant was ordered to sequester its CO₂ emissions.
- 3
To set apart; to put aside; to remove; to separate from other things.
- 4
To prevent an ion in solution from behaving normally by forming a coordination compound.
- 5
To temporarily remove (property) from the possession of its owner and hold it as security against legal claims.
- 6
To cause (one) to submit to the process of sequestration; to deprive (one) of one's estate, property, etc.
- 7
USTo remove (certain funds) automatically from a budget.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 sequestered 1.2 trillion dollars over 10 years on January 2, 2013.
- 8
To seize and hold enemy property.
noun
- 1
sequestration; separation
- 2
A person with whom two or more contending parties deposit the subject matter of the controversy; one who mediates between two parties; a referee
- 3
A sequestrum.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sequester in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | séquestrer, mettre sous séquestre |
| German | absondern , abscheiden , sequestrieren, beschlagnahmen und zwangsverwalten, unter Sequester stellen , Abscheidung |
| Spanish | separar, aislar, enclaustrar, inclaustrar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sequester come from?
From Middle English sequestren (verb) and sequestre (noun), from Old French sequestrer, from Late Latin sequestrō (“separate, give up for safekeeping”), from Latin sequester (“mediator, depositary”), probably originally meaning "follower", from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“follow”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).