# detain

Pronunciation: say "di-TAYN" /dɪˈteɪn/

## Verb

1. To place someone under official custody, preventing them from leaving.
   - Simple: To hold someone in custody and not let them leave.
   - _Border agents may detain travelers whose documents appear incomplete._
   - _The authorities detained him without charge for two days._
2. To keep someone from going on their way, either by physically holding them back or by making claims on their attention.
   - Simple: To stop someone from leaving or moving on, often by taking up their time.
   - _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._
3. To keep something back from someone, withholding money or property that should be handed over.
   - Simple: To keep something back and not give it to the person it belongs to.
   - _The trustee may detain funds until the outstanding debt is settled._
   - _They accused the firm of detaining money owed to its subcontractors._
4. To seize and hold goods for official reasons, such as inspection or enforcement of regulations.
   - Simple: To take and hold goods because of an official rule or law.
   - _Inspectors may detain any cargo suspected of breaking import rules._
   - _Customs detained the container until the importer paid the duty._

## Origin

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

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/detain (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).