dragnet

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In our quest to catch the neighborhood porch pirate, we’ve inadvertently built a dragnet that catches much more.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

Both men were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement dragnet launched in December that sent scores of armed and masked agents across the city.

From Salon • Feb. 2, 2026

Asylum-seekers, refugees, and even Abrego Garcia, who had been issued a protection known as withholding of removal specifically prohibiting his being sent to El Salvador, have been swept up in the dragnet.

From Slate • Apr. 8, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2024

The dragnet of the manhunters eventually rounded up more than one hundred suspects.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson