detention

[ dih-ten-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of detaining.
2. the state of being detained.
3. maintenance of a person in custody or confinement, especially while awaiting a court decision.
4. the withholding of what belongs to or is claimed by another.

adjective

1. of or relating to detention or used to detain:

   the detention room of a police station.

detention

/ dɪˈtɛnʃən /

noun

1. the act of detaining or state of being detained
2. 1. custody or confinement, esp of a suspect awaiting trial
   2. ( as modifier )

      a detention order

3. a form of punishment in which a pupil is detained after school
4. the withholding of something belonging to or claimed by another

Other Words From

• nonde·tention noun
• prede·tention noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of detention¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin dētentiōn- (stem of dētentiō ), equivalent to dētent ( us ) detained (past participle of dētinēre; detain ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of detention¹

C16: from Latin dētentiō a keeping back; see detain

Example Sentences

What’s happening is that the government is creating detention camps all over the country.

From MIT Technology Review

The government has provided limited information, and sometimes a family’s last known address is … a detention center.

From Voice of San Diego

For example, often the last known address provided was an immigration detention center.

From Voice of San Diego

Prosecutors appealed the case, triggering Szutowicz’s current detention.

From Washington Blade

In the spring, Alma Migrante and other groups sued to improve safety in migrant detention facilities in Baja California.

From Voice of San Diego

He then escaped from his detention and arrived on Tverskaya Avenue to join his supporters.

From The Daily Beast

After two nights in detention, he was scheduled to be deported back to Turkey on Monday.

From The Daily Beast

He is being held in pretrial detention in Baku and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

From The Daily Beast

While in pre-trial detention, Krivov undertook two hunger strikes.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps the guards at the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities will finally be allowed to smoke cubans, too.

From The Daily Beast

The cause of Haggard's mysterious detention in Rome, and of their own sudden flitting, became at once clear to her.

From Project Gutenberg

This detention was very vexatious, for we were not only losing a fair wind, but lying in a very exposed situation.

From Project Gutenberg

By statute and order the Central Authority had authorised compulsory detention for four hours and the exaction of a task of work.

From Project Gutenberg

I raced upward along the same paths by which Prince Genner had led me to my own detention quarters.

From Project Gutenberg

Our primary object in proposing detention is neither punishment nor imprisonment.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arrest
• custody
• delay
• incarceration
• internment
• quarantine