detention camp

American  

noun

1. a compound where prisoners are detained temporarily, as pending determination of their legal status under immigration laws.

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Etymology

Origin of detention camp

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Escape attempts from the largest detention camp in northeast Syria, Al Hol, have increased this year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

The detention camp contract at Fort Bliss, which could eventually hold 5,000 people, was awarded to a consortium of firms led by a company on the military contracting list for over $1 billion.

From Salon • Oct. 2, 2025

Bliss, the U.S. is constructing a new 5,000-bed immigrant detention camp.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 27, 2025

In 2008, Judge Urbina ordered the release of a number of prisoners being held at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, including 17 from the Uyghur Muslim minority in western China.

From New York Times • Jun. 19, 2024

Morris Foote, was taken prisoner, and escaped, with thrilling experiences, from a detention camp in South Carolina; while his brother, Lieut.

From The Story of Cooperstown by Birdsall, Ralph