DEFINITIONS
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detain

[ dih-teyn ]
/ dɪˈteɪn /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR detain ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to keep from proceeding; keep waiting; delay.
to keep under restraint or in custody.
Obsolete. to keep back or withhold, as from a person.

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Words related to detain

confinement, hold, imprisonment, holding, custody, holdup, postponement

Words nearby detain

detail, detail drawing, detailed, detailer, detailing, detain, detainee, detainer, detect, detection, detective

Origin of detain

1480–90; detainen < Anglo-French, Old French detenir < Vulgar Latin *dētenīre, for Latin dētinēre, equivalent to dē- de- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre to hold

OTHER WORDS FROM detain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for detainment

British Dictionary definitions for detainment

detain
/ (dɪˈteɪn) /

verb (tr)

to delay; hold back; stop
to confine or hold in custody; restrain
archaic to retain or withhold

Derived forms of detain

detainable, adjectivedetainee (ˌdiːteɪˈniː), noundetainment, noun

Word Origin for detain

C15: from Old French detenir, from Latin dētinēre to hold off, keep back, from de- + tenēre to hold
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012