noun
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the act of detaining or state of being detained
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custody or confinement, esp of a suspect awaiting trial
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( as modifier )
a detention order
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a form of punishment in which a pupil is detained after school
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the withholding of something belonging to or claimed by another
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of detention
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin dētentiōn- (stem of dētentiō ), equivalent to dētent ( us ) detained (past participle of dētinēre; see detain) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Detention is a word for confinement or imprisonment, usually for a short time. It's also a punishment where children must stay after school. If you're in detention, you probably did something wrong: you're being confined against your will. The police hold people in detention, and so do military forces. Usually, detention is a short period of confinement, like if someone is arrested and then released. Also, the word is commonly used for an after-school punishment for children who have to stay in detention instead of going home. One thing is true of both kinds of detention: no one wants to be there.
Vocabulary lists containing detention
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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.
Clergy showed up at ICE detention centers and got arrested for it.
From Salon • Jun. 14, 2026
The video shows officers placing handcuffs on people, ushering them into cars and then placing them into detention centres.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
The detention adds friction between the U.S. and China, weeks after a summit where President Trump raised other detentions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Both facilities are owned and operated by the Geo Group Inc., one of the largest private prison and immigration detention contractors in the country.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
A bunch of kids who were in detention with my grandfather shoot him high-five signs when they pass.
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
