detention center
Americannoun
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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.
The defendants planned or worked together to create shield walls and physical barriers for multiple demonstrations outside an immigration detention center, prosecutors alleged.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
The New Jersey town of Roxbury, meanwhile, is trying to prevent the conversion of a commercial warehouse into a detention center.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
“It’s the only detention center in the country that doesn’t have an indoor waiting area,” she said.
From Slate • May 29, 2026
Prosecutors alleged their actions during a September protest outside the suburban Broadview detention center amounted to impeding or injuring an officer.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
The only person who insisted on visiting regularly was Garvey, the stocky youth probation officer, who stopped by the detention center almost daily.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
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.
