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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

The unharmed child was rescued and placed into protective custody by Arizona authorities.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025

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

From BBC • Aug. 7, 2025

It was unclear whether they were under some form of protective custody.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2025

Half of the inmates in the Box, as it turned out—all thirty on the upper floor—were not disciplinary cases but men under protective custody, of which there were two kinds.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

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.