Link Centre Dictionary

detention

de·ten·tion

UK/dɪˈtɛnʃn̩/ US/dɪˈtɛnʃʌn/ fairly common

noun

1.

a state of being confined (usually for a short time)

  • “his detention was politically motivated”
  • “the prisoner is on hold”
  • “he is in the custody of police”
Synonyms
2.

a punishment in which a student must stay at school after others have gone home

  • “the detention of tardy pupils”

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French détention, from Latin detentio, detentionem. Equivalent to detain + -tion.

Phrases

  • detention basin
  • detention cell
  • detention center
  • detention centre
  • detention home
  • detention officer
  • detention pond
  • detention time

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.