detain
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to delay; hold back; stop
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to confine or hold in custody; restrain
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archaic to retain or withhold
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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detainsimple
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detainssimple
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have detainedperfect
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has detainedperfect
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am detainingprogressive
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are detainingprogressive
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is detainingprogressive
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have been detainingperfect progressive
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has been detainingperfect progressive
Past
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detainedsimple
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had detainedperfect
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was detainingprogressive
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were detainingprogressive
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had been detainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of detain
First recorded in 1480–90; detainen, from Anglo-French, Old French detenir, from unattested Vulgar Latin dētenīre, for Latin dētinēre, equivalent to dē- de- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”
Explanation
When you detain someone, you hold them back, slow them down, or stop them from moving on. If you are detained by the police, you may be late for the big football game, even if you were speeding to get there by the kickoff. There are lots of words that contain the root tain, like contain and retain. These come from Latin tenere, which means "to hold." Detain is specifically used when you're talking about holding someone so they can't go anywhere. It's often used in discussions involving the police who detain people who they think might be guilty. But you can use detain, say, when you're explaining why you were late: "I was detained at the office by a conference call that wouldn't end. Sorry."
Vocabulary lists containing detain
Echo
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Enrique's Journey
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 30–February 5, 2021
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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.
Christina, that sweet nymph, no longer shall Detain thee; be thou careful not to fall, Prudent Ulysses, under those delights To which the learned Circe thee invites.
From A Journal of the Swedish Embassy in the Years 1653 and 1654, Vol II. by Morton, Charles
Does not our love, and pledge of faith once given, Nor thought of Dido, doomed to die a cruel death, Detain thee?
From Studies in the Poetry of Italy, I. Roman by Miller, Frank Justus
It ran thus: "Detain her; suffer no letters from her to reach the post."
From Davenport Dunn, Volume 2 (of 2) A Man Of Our Day by Lever, Charles James
Seek the mail-arm'd multitude, by force Detain them of thy soothing speech, ere yet All launch their oary barks into the flood.
From The Iliad of Homer Translated into English Blank Verse by William Cowper by Cowper, William
"Detain us if you dare, you young ruffian!" exclaimed the sheriff, protruding his harsh visage from one side of the sleigh.
From The Rangers; or, The Tory's Daughter A tale illustrative of the revolutionary history of Vermont by Thompson, D. P.
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.
