detainment
Americannoun
-
the condition of being under restraint or in custody; imprisonment.
Participants also risk arrest and possible detainment in an already overflowing jail.
-
the condition of being delayed or kept from proceeding.
We were finally allowed to cross the border after six hours of detainment.
Etymology
Origin of detainment
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.
Film academy leaders apologized to ‘No Other Land’ co-director Hamdan Ballal for their initial response to his detainment, which members called ‘indefensible’ in an open letter.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
She added that the family of the British man had been able to speak to him following his detainment.
From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026
To a pastor released after a warrantless detainment.
From Slate • Feb. 12, 2026
The case has been closely monitored by human rights groups including Amal Clooney's Clooney Foundation for Justice, which in October questioned the lengthy detainment, citing "repeated postponements and slow progress".
From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026
Defense witnesses who were not imprisoned now risked detainment if they testified.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
