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.
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
Separate from the aid tent, protests at the facility persist, with a grassroots group of activists maintaining a mutual aid table of their own near the detention center.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
O’Leary cited persistent issues with transparency at the privately owned for-profit detention center as well.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Instead of going home that night, Wilber found himself back in bed 23 of the detention center — his bond denied — trying to ignore a nasty odor permeating his 14-person cell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
“Fabiola, your mother’s going to be sent to an immigration detention center in New Jersey. She’s not coming to Detroit,” Chantal says.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
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.
