detention center
Americannoun
-
detention centers
plural
-
a facility maintained by the civil authorities for persons charged with a crime, immigrants awaiting deportation rulings, or sometimes witnesses before a trial.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of detention center
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
In California, a court-appointed medical monitor issued a report last month finding that the state’s largest immigrant detention center repeatedly has delayed assessments, treatment and administration of medication for detainees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Immigration and Customs Enforcement over conditions at the Mojave Desert detention center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
The sign around her neck carried the name and photo of Francisco Gaspar-Andrés, a 48-year-old who died in a Texas detention center in December.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
O’Leary cited persistent issues with transparency at the privately owned for-profit detention center as well.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
The Thursday night before, he had gotten a letter from his father, who was still in Florida at the detention center.
From "Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
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.
