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.
After roughly three years of treatment in 2013, a judge ordered her to be released from custody because doctors said she was no longer insane.
From Los Angeles Times
The application was pending when ICE took her into custody on Oct.
From Los Angeles Times
Cuba had long denied having active soldiers or security agents inside Venezuela, but freed political prisoners have often claimed they were interrogated by men with Cuban accents while in custody.
From BBC
Maduro and his wife did not seek bail during the proceedings, but can do so at a later date, meaning they will remain in federal custody.
From BBC
Iran has experienced several outbreaks of nationwide protests in recent years, most notably in 2022 over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini over the alleged breach of Iran's Islamic dress laws for women.
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.
