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Synonyms

protective custody

American  

noun

  1. detention of a person by the police solely as protection against a possible attack or reprisal by someone.

Etymology

Origin of protective custody

First recorded in 1935–40

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.

Now he’d be sent to the hospital, stitched up, placed in protective custody, and sent to another prison.

From Slate • Oct. 8, 2025

Mr De Wet will be taken into protective custody until the end of the trial.

From BBC • Aug. 7, 2025

The girl was temporarily taken into protective custody until she was reunited with her family.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2025

Mills wants to change state law to allow law enforcement to go directly to a judge to seek a protective custody warrant to take a dangerous person into custody to remove weapons.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 6, 2024

Should they take me into something called "protective custody"? If they can't locate next of kin, can they turn me over to a family friend?

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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.