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

Asked whether Netanyahu would be detained if he entered the UK, the prime minister's official spokesman refused to comment on "hypotheticals".

From BBC

Should ICE detain people en masse, certain immigrants may be unable to pay bonds, and language barriers will compound all those issues, she said.

From Salon

The manager of the hostel has since been detained for questioning by police.

From BBC

A teenager who launched an attack at a gurdwara in Kent has been detained in hospital.

From BBC

Ms Bush-Joseph added that additional facilities in Texas could also mean that undocumented migrants detained in the US interior could ultimately be moved and processed there.

From BBC

Related Words

• apprehend
• confine
• delay
• jail