custody
Americannoun
plural
custodies-
keeping; guardianship; care.
- Synonyms:
- watch, charge, safekeeping
-
the keeping or charge of officers of the law.
The car was held in the custody of the police.
-
imprisonment; legal restraint.
He was taken into custody.
-
Also called child custody. Law. the right of determining the residence, protection, care, and education of a minor child or children, especially in a divorce or separation.
noun
-
the act of keeping safe or guarding, esp the right of guardianship of a minor
-
the state of being held by the police; arrest (esp in the phrases in custody, take into custody )
Related Words
Custody, keeping, possession imply a guardianship or care for something. Custody denotes a strict keeping, as by a formally authorized and responsible guardian or keeper: in the custody of the sheriff. Keeping denotes having in one's care or charge, as for guarding or preservation: I left the package in my mother's keeping. Possession means holding, ownership, or mastery: Leave it in possession of its owner.
Other Word Forms
- custodial adjective
Etymology
Origin of custody
1400–50; late Middle English custodye < Latin custōdia “a watching, watchman,” equivalent to custōd- (stem of custōs ) “keeper” + -ia -y 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Marset, who eluded police for years, was captured in Bolivia last week and transferred to US custody.
From Barron's
The two remaining suspects, aged 22 and 40, remain in custody.
From BBC
Meanwhile, the 2025 novel “Unfit” by Ariana Harwicz, about a mother losing her children in a custody battle, uses erratic crayon scribbles on its cover.
From Los Angeles Times
A UN report in 2022 noted that Somalia was working to ensure "those held in custody for questioning was done in a coordinated manner so that the rights of detainees were upheld".
From BBC
All three men remain in custody, the AGO said.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
