detention center
Americannoun
-
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.
The Broadview immigration facility, a temporary detention center, became a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s effort to increase enforcement in the Chicago area during what it called “Operation Midway Blitz” last fall.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
The couple would spend nine hours driving from North Carolina to visit their son, who was being held at a detention center in south Georgia.
From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026
Local groups that oppose ICE’s efforts celebrated the ruling and pledged to continue applying pressure until there is a permanent ruling ensuring the building will never operate as a detention center.
From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026
"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
Bobby wrote to the U.S. embassy in Tokyo asking them to send a member of the diplomatic staff to the detention center so that an official could accept his citizenship renunciation.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
