Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for protective custody. Search instead for provide custom.
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.

They were found in Peru and taken into protective custody.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2025

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

Six other children who were temporarily away from the home at the time have since been taken into protective custody by the Department of Children and Family Services and placed into foster care.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 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

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.