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.
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.
"Our priority is to get her out of this detention center and repatriate her to France. Given her health, she won't last a month in such conditions of detention," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
It also includes a massive detention center to be built in New Hampshire that can hold tens of thousands of detainees.
From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which plans to convert it into a detention center for immigrants awaiting deportation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
The shelter’s oldest resident is an 83-year-old who spent most of his life working in Florida before he was picked up and sent to a detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026
What would my pen pals say if I told them that I am standing at a detention center because I went to open my postbox for their letters?
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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.
