detainee
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of detainee
Explanation
A prisoner is sometimes called a detainee, especially if they're being held by a government or its military forces. Political prisoners are often referred to as detainees, as are people captured by armed forces. Legally, anyone who is being temporarily held or detained until they can be tried in a court is also called a detainee. An inmate or prisoner, on the other hand, has been convicted and imprisoned as part of a legal sentence. Detainee and detain come from the Latin root detinere, "to hold off or hold back."
Vocabulary lists containing detainee
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.
The properties largely weren’t zoned for detention and didn’t have working plumbing to support large detainee populations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Lawmakers sometimes request to speak with a particular kind of detainee — for example, people held longer than 90 days — and Lyons said meeting such requests takes up too much time.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
When a detainee is located, it is sometimes possible to use the Russian prison administration's online platform to write to them.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
An ICE detainee locator on Friday morning showed that Villegas is being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
The detainee who is wise enough to realize this will never find any cause for complaint, but only all conceivable help, to erase the memory of what he had been accused of.
From My Life and My Efforts by Olesch, Gunther
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.
