protective custody
Americannoun
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.
An administrative official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the chief minister had been placed in "protective custody" in his official residence but later moved to another location, which he did not disclose.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
He narrowly escaped and was placed under protective custody.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
Now he’d be sent to the hospital, stitched up, placed in protective custody, and sent to another prison.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2025
Shift duty officers with no security experience were being asked to make decisions in the middle of the night about whether to put detainees who felt threatened in protective custody.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2025
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
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
