Adjacent Words

Detain definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DETAIN, v.t. [L., to hold. See Tenant.]
1. To keep back or from; to withhold; to keep what belongs to another. Detain not the wages of the hireling.
2. To keep or restrain from proceeding, either going or coming; to stay or stop. We were detained by the rain.
Let us detain thee, till we have made ready a kid. Judges 13.
3. To hold in custody.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: deprive of freedom; take into confinement [syn: confine, detain] [ant: free, liberate, loose, release, unloose, unloosen]
2: stop or halt; "Please stay the bloodshed!" [syn: stay, detain, delay]
3: cause to be slowed down or delayed; "Traffic was delayed by the bad weather"; "she delayed the work that she didn't want to perform" [syn: delay, detain, hold up] [ant: hurry, rush]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English deteynen, from Anglo-French deteign-, stem of detenir, modification of Latin detin?re, from de- + ten?re to hold — more at thin Date: 15th century 1. to hold or keep in or as if in custody <detained by the police for questioning> 2. obsolete to keep back (as something due) ; withhold 3. to restrain especially from proceeding <was detained by a flat tire> Synonyms: see keep, delay • detainment noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 keep in confinement or under restraint. 2 keep waiting; delay. Derivatives: detainment n. Etymology: ME f. OF detenir ult. f. L detinere detent- (as DE-, tenere hold)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Detain De*tain" (d[-e]*t[=a]n"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Detained; p. pr. & vb. n. Detaining.] [F. d['e]tenir, L. detinere, detentum; de + tenere to hold. See Tenable.] 1. To keep back or from; to withhold. Detain not the wages of the hireling. --Jer. Taylor. 2. To restrain from proceeding; to stay or stop; to delay; as, we were detained by an accident. Let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. --Judges xiii. 15. 3. To hold or keep in custody. Syn: To withhold; retain; stop; stay; arrest; check; retard; delay; hinder.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Detain De*tain", n. Detention. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(detains, detaining, detained) 1. When people such as the police detain someone, they keep them in a place under their control. (FORMAL) The act allows police to detain a suspect for up to 48 hours... VERB: V n 2. To detain someone means to delay them, for example by talking to them. (FORMAL) Thank you. We won't detain you any further. VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Restrain, stay, check, delay, retain, stop, keep back. 2. Confine, hold or keep in custody.

Moby Thesaurus

apprehend, arrest, backpedal, backwater, block, bog down, bottle up, box up, brake, bust, buttonhole, cage, check, clip the wings, cloister, confine, constrain, coop, coop in, coop up, cork up, countercheck, crib, curb, dam up, damp, dampen, decelerate, delay, drag, draw rein, ease off, ease up, encage, enclose, fence in, hang up, hem in, hinder, hold, hold back, hold in check, hold in custody, hold in restraint, hold up, immure, impede, impound, inhibit, intercept, interfere, intermeddle, interrupt, intervene, keep, keep back, keep in, keep in check, keep in custody, keep in detention, keep out, lag, let down, let up, lose ground, lose momentum, lose speed, make late, meddle, mew, mew up, mire, moderate, nab, obstruct, oppose, pen, pen up, pick up, pinch, pound, pull in, rail in, reef, rein in, relax, repress, reserve, resist, restrain, restrict, retain, retard, run in, scotch, seal up, set back, shackle, shut in, shut up, slack off, slack up, slacken, slow, slow down, slow up, snub, stay, stop, suppress, take in sail, throttle down, wall in, withhold