DictionaryAI

detain

verb
di-TAYN/dɪˈteɪn/

Formsdetains, detaining, detained

4 meanings of detain

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive
    To place someone under official custody, preventing them from leaving.

    Border agents may detain travelers whose documents appear incomplete.

    The authorities detained him without charge for two days.

    Similarhold, arrest, imprison, confine, jail

    Oppositerelease, free, liberate, discharge

    Note

    Police or immigration officers detain a person, often before any formal charge is filed or while an investigation is still under way. The word names the holding, not the accusation. It most often appears in the passive (he was detained at the border) or with a purpose phrase (detained for questioning). Its counterpart for property is the seizing of goods.

  2. 2
    verbtransitive
    To keep someone from going on their way, either by physically holding them back or by making claims on their attention.

    I won't detain you any longer, since you clearly have somewhere to be.

    A chatty neighbor detained him at the door for half an hour.

    Similarkeep

    Oppositerelease, free

  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To keep something back from someone, withholding money or property that should be handed over.

    The trustee may detain funds until the outstanding debt is settled.

    They accused the firm of detaining money owed to its subcontractors.

    Similarwithhold, retain, keep, hold

    Oppositerelease, surrender

    Note

    Here what is held back is money or property, not a person. Jeremy Taylor's The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living puts it as a command: "Detain not the wages of the hireling." The use is now uncommon and survives mainly in legal and commercial writing about retained wages or unreleased funds. In everyday prose, withhold or keep back says the same thing more plainly.

  4. 4
    verbtransitive
    To seize and hold goods for official reasons, such as inspection or enforcement of regulations.

    Inspectors may detain any cargo suspected of breaking import rules.

    Customs detained the container until the importer paid the duty.

    Similarseize, impound, hold, confiscate, embargo

    Oppositerelease, clear

Practice

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Origin

From Old French 'detenir', related to Italian 'detenere', Portuguese 'deter', Romanian 'deține', and Spanish 'detener'.