detention camp

American  

noun

1. a compound where prisoners are detained temporarily, as pending determination of their legal status under immigration laws.

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Etymology

Origin of detention camp

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

detention camp

Escape attempts from the largest detention camp in northeast Syria, Al Hol, have increased this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025

After about a month, she and Nijaz were finally released from the detention camp in December 1992.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2025

They raided landmarks such as the Biltmore and Beverly Hills hotels, and a detention camp was set up in Los Angeles’ Elysian Park to temporarily house the people picked up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2024

In 2008, Judge Urbina ordered the release of a number of prisoners being held at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, including 17 from the Uyghur Muslim minority in western China.

From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2024

There he found that the plague had spent itself and that Bim had gone to a detention camp outside the city of Chicago.

From A Man for the Ages A Story of the Builders of Democracy by Adams, John Wolcott