detention
school punishment of staying late
A school punishment where a student must stay at school longer, or give up their free time, because they broke a rule.
to give [a student] detention
- If you're late again, you'll get detention after school.
- The teacher gave him a week of detention for cheating on the test.
- She had to stay for an hour of detention at lunchtime for talking in class.
- Half the class ended up in detention after the food fight.
- He spent Saturday morning in detention finishing his missing homework.
- I got detention for using my phone in class.
- Our teacher gave us detention because we were too noisy.
- She has to stay in detention for thirty minutes after school.
- They will get detention if they do not bring their books.
- He often gets detention because he is late to class.
official custody by authorities
When the police or another authority keep a person in a place and do not let them go freely, often while they wait for a decision or trial.
to be held in detention
- The activists were taken into detention after the protest.
- He has spent three months in pretrial detention awaiting a court hearing.
- Human rights groups condemned the government's use of indefinite detention.
- Dozens of migrants remain in immigration detention near the border.
- The court ruled that her detention was unlawful and ordered her immediate release.
- The police kept him in detention overnight.
- Many refugees were placed in detention while their papers were checked.
- After the protest, some students were in detention at the police station.
- They are still in detention and cannot see their families.
- The judge said his detention could not continue without a trial date.
- Base: detention
- Plural: detention, detentions
administrative detention
1detention without criminal trial
when a government keeps someone in detention for reasons like security or immigration, without first finding them guilty in a normal court trial
- Human rights groups criticized the use of administrative detention against political activists.
- The law allows for administrative detention in cases of serious security threats.
- He was held in administrative detention for months without formal charges.
after-school detention
1school detention after classes
a school punishment where a student must stay at school after the normal school day has finished
- He has after-school detention three times this week for skipping class.
- Students who are late more than three times receive after-school detention.
- She missed the bus because she had after-school detention.
detention center
1facility for holding detainees
a special building where the government or police keeps people who are not free to leave, for example migrants or prisoners waiting for trial
- Families gathered outside the detention center to demand information about their relatives.
- The government plans to build a new immigration detention center near the airport.
- Conditions inside the detention center have been criticized by human rights groups.
immigration detention
1detention of migrants
a system where a country keeps migrants or asylum seekers in special centers while it decides if they can stay
- The new law limits the use of immigration detention for children.
- She spent eight months in immigration detention before receiving a visa.
- Many organizations are calling for alternatives to immigration detention.
in detention
1currently kept in custody
kept by police, school, or another authority and not free to go
- He has been in detention for two days without seeing a lawyer.
- The students who broke the rules are in detention this afternoon.
- Journalists reported that hundreds of people remained in detention after the riots.
lunch detention
1school detention at lunchtime
a school punishment where a student must stay in a classroom or office during lunch instead of having free time
- She got lunch detention for talking back to the teacher.
- Students who forget their homework three times get lunch detention.
- He spent most of last term in lunch detention for small rule breaks.
pretrial detention
1custody before a trial
the time when a person is kept in jail by the authorities after they are arrested but before they go to court
- The suspect has already spent six months in pretrial detention.
- The report argues that long periods of pretrial detention violate human rights.
- Pretrial detention should be used only when there is a serious risk to the public.
juvenile detention
1custody facility for young offenders
A special jail-like place where young people who break the law are kept by the state.
- He was sent to juvenile detention for stealing cars.
- He spent six months in juvenile detention after the robbery.
- The report called for better education programs in juvenile detention centers.
- The city is building a new juvenile detention center to replace the old one.
- Juvenile detention is supposed to focus on rehabilitation, not just punishment.