Associations to the word «Detention»

Wiktionary

DETENTION, noun. (uncountable) The act of detaining or the state of being detained.
DETENTION, noun. (countable) A temporary state of custody or confinement, especially of a prisoner awaiting trial, or of a student being punished.
DETENTION BASIN, noun. A depression in the ground designed to fill with rainwater that would otherwise cause flooding
DETENTION CELL, noun. Holding cell.
DETENTION CELLS, noun. Plural of detention cell
DETENTION CENTRE, noun. A facility in which people are detained (held in custody); a jail.
DETENTION CENTRE, noun. (Australia) An immigration detention facility; a facility in which people who have attempted to enter Australia without prior authorisation are detained, pending a decision on whether they are to be accepted as refugees or returned to their country of origin.
DETENTION CENTRE, noun. A concentration camp.
DETENTION CENTRES, noun. Plural of detention centre
DETENTION HOME, noun. (US) An institution in which juvenile offenders are temporarily housed
DETENTION HOMES, noun. Plural of detention home
DETENTION WARRANT, noun. (legal) a court order authorising the detention of a person following his arrest or pending any procedural activity (interrogation, examination, trial, etc.).

Dictionary definition

DETENTION, noun. 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".
DETENTION, noun. A punishment in which a student must stay at school after others have gone home; "the detention of tardy pupils".

Wise words

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.