detention center
Americannoun
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detention centers
plural
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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.
I knew where they were the last time I spoke to them, they were at X detention center.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026
The state also ended its contract with a private prison in Kern County, a site now being operated as an immigrant detention center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
A 2021 law allows people to sue for damages when private detention center operators fail to follow the care standards laid out in their contracts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Over the weekend, a Salvadoran immigrant being held at the notorious Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey died after experiencing a medical emergency, the second death the facility has seen since December.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 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.
