detain

[ dih-teyn ]

verb (used with object)

1. to keep from proceeding; keep waiting; delay.

   Synonyms: check, stay, stop, hinder, slow, retard

2. to keep under restraint or in custody.
3. Obsolete. to keep back or withhold, as from a person.

detain

/ ˌdiːteɪˈniː; dɪˈteɪn /

verb

1. to delay; hold back; stop
2. to confine or hold in custody; restrain
3. archaic.
   to retain or withhold

Derived Forms

• deˈtainment, noun
• deˈtainable, adjective
• detainee, noun

Other Words From

• de·tain·a·ble adjective
• de·tain·ment noun
• pre·de·tain verb (used with object)
• un·de·tain·a·ble adjective
• un·de·tained adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of detain¹

First recorded in 1480–90; detainen, from Anglo-French, Old French detenir, from unattested Vulgar Latin dētenīre, for Latin dētinēre, equivalent to dē- de- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”

Word History and Origins

Origin of detain¹

C15: from Old French detenir, from Latin dētinēre to hold off, keep back, from de- + tenēre to hold

Example Sentences

Police and the army are still at the scene waiting to detain those who are not in need of medical care after resurfacing.

From BBC

Gonzalez, police said, tried to run away when an officer attempted to detain him.

From Los Angeles Times

Voters have passed a ballot proposition that would allow local and state police to arrest and detain people on the basis of their immigration status, and state courts to deport them.

From Slate

A cross-party committee of MPs scrutinising the previous proposals had welcomed the ban on their use, but had called for an increase in appropriate places to detain people in healthcare settings alongside the change.

From BBC

The bill is set to largely mirror proposals included in the draft Tory law, including raising the threshold to detain people, and requiring that there is a realistic prospect that suggested treatment would have a therapeutic benefit.

From BBC

Related Words

• apprehend
• confine
• delay
• jail