detainverb [ T often passive ]
uk/dɪˈteɪn/us/dɪˈteɪn/to force someone officially to stay in a place:
A suspect has been detained by the police for questioning.
Several of the injured were detained overnight in hospital.
to delay someone for a short length of time:
I'm sorry I'm late - I was unavoidably detained.
detain sb at His/Her Majesty's pleasure UK specialized
to keep someone in prison for as long as the courts feel is necessary
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Putting people in prison
- at His/Her Majesty's pleasure idiom
- bang
- bang sb up
- bar
- behind bars idiom
- bird
- hold
- imprison
- incarcerate
- internment
- jail
- lag
- lock
- pen
- restraint
- rot
- rot in jail, prison, etc. idiom
- send
- send sb down
- serve
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Delaying and wasting time