(transitive) To use one's authority to lay claim to and separate a possession from its holder.
In schools, it is common for teachers to confiscate electronic games and other distractions.
1768, Alexander Dow (translator), The History of Hindostan by Muḥammad Qāsim Hindū Shāh Astarābādī, London: T. Becket & P.A. de Hondt, Volume 2, Section 4, p. 63,
The Persian having evacuated the imperial provinces, the vizier became more cruel and oppressive than ever: he extorted money from the poor by tortures, and confiscated the estates of the nobility, upon false or very frivolous pretences.
adjective
(obsolete) Confiscated; seized and appropriated by the government for public use; forfeit.