detention center
Americannoun
-
a facility maintained by the civil authorities for persons charged with a crime, immigrants awaiting deportation rulings, or sometimes witnesses before a trial.
Etymology
Origin of detention center
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
Protesters clashed with US law enforcement outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey, a top US official said Friday, after inmates inside staged a hunger strike over conditions.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
“It’s the only detention center in the country that doesn’t have an indoor waiting area,” she said.
From Slate • May 29, 2026
A 65-year-old British woman named Karen Newman traveling on a valid tourist visa was arrested in September 2025 at the Montana border, shackled and held for six weeks in an ICE detention center.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
Prosecutors alleged their actions during a September protest outside the suburban Broadview detention center amounted to impeding or injuring an officer.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
They sent him to a detention center called El Corralon, the Corral, in Mexico City.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
