detention center

American  

[dih-ten-shuhn sen-ter] / dɪˈtɛn ʃən ˌsɛn tər /

noun

1. a facility maintained by the civil authorities for persons charged with a crime, immigrants awaiting deportation rulings, or sometimes witnesses before a trial.

2. juvenile detention center.

---

Etymology

Origin of detention center

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

It also includes a massive detention center to be built in New Hampshire that can hold tens of thousands of detainees.

From Salon

A Southern California immigration detention center faces renewed scrutiny after federal officials confirmed the death of a detainee last week, marking the fourth fatality since September and contributing to what is becoming one of the deadliest years on record for people in U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

Of the 13, Mexican officials said that includes six who died of medical complications, four from suicide, two during ICE operations and another in the shooting at the detention center in Dallas.

From Los Angeles Times

The Cheltenham Youth Detention Center in Maryland has been in operation in some form for more than 155 years.

From Slate

We come to this story from opposite sides of the detention walls: One of us oversaw the incarceration of youth at the Cheltenham Youth Detention Center, and the other was incarcerated there as a child in the 1990s.

From Slate