detainde‧tain /dɪˈteɪn/ ●○○ verb [transitive] 
Two suspects have been detained by the police for questioning. She was detained in hospital with a suspected broken leg.2 formal to stop someone from leaving as soon as they expected SYN delay: He was detained in Washington on urgent business.GRAMMAR Detain is often passive in this meaning.
WORD ORIGINdetain
Origin:
1400-1500 Old French detenir, from Latin detinere, from tenere ‘to hold’VERB TABLE
detain
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | detain |
| he, she, it | detains | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | detained |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have detained |
| he, she, it | has detained | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had detained |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will detain |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have detained |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am detaining |
| he, she, it | is detaining | |
| you, we, they | are detaining | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was detaining |
| you, we, they | were detaining | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been detaining |
| he, she, it | has been detaining | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been detaining |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be detaining |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been detaining |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I won't detain you for much longer, Miss Reid. There are just a few more questions that I need to ask you.
- Mr Jones should be here, but I'm afraid he's been unavoidably detained.
- Mrs. Flanagan was detained in Washington on urgent business.
- Police detained two suspects for questioning.
- The police are now allowed to detain terrorist suspects for as long as a week.
- Three men from the ship have been detained for questioning by the Harbour Authorities.
- All are detained in Darlington Memorial Hospital.
- George had a tendency to be detained or shot at for sketching coastal installations in strategic areas.
- His body was found in the sports complex where police had taken those detained.
- Since 1981 hundreds of people have been detained under this law, some for more than eight years.
- The officer later detained the man after a struggle, but needed ten stitches to the wound.
- When Stephen reaches Winchester safely, the Earl of Gloucester will be released and his son detained.
Longman Language Activatorto make someone or something arrive late
to make someone or something late - use this especially about a problem or something unexpected: · Mr Evans has been delayed but will be joining us shortly.· Our plane was delayed by fog.· I mustn't delay you any longer.get delayed: · There was an accident on the freeway and we got delayed.
to delay someone or something so that they arrive somewhere late: make sb late for: · The accident made us late for work.· I'll let you go - I don't want to make you late for your appointment.make somebody late doing something: · Catching a later train made Frank late getting to the office.
to make someone or something stop or go more slowly when they are going somewhere: hold somebody up: · I won't hold you up - I can see you're in a hurry.hold up somebody/something: · Get a move on, you two! You're holding up the whole queue!be/get held up: · We got held up in traffic and missed the show.
informal to delay someone when they are trying to go somewhere: · He should be here by now. What's keeping him?
formal to delay someone, especially by keeping them talking or working: · I won't detain you for much longer, Miss Reid. There are just a few more questions that I need to ask you.be unavoidably detained (=by something that you cannot prevent): · Mr Jones should be here, but I'm afraid he's been unavoidably detained.
to keep someone in a place as a prisoner to make someone stay in a place and not let them leave, especially as a prisoner: · You can't keep me here against my will - get out of my way.keep somebody in/at etc something: · The guerrillas were keeping the hostages in a camp somewhere in the jungle.· Prisoners were kept in cells with no beds and no running water.
to keep someone somewhere, especially for a short period of time, before deciding what to do with them: · Police are holding two men for questioning in connection with the robbery.· No one knows where the kidnapped woman is being held.hold somebody in/at etc something: · The prisoners were held at Andersonville until more suitable places were found.
to illegally keep someone in a place where they do not want to be, especially as a way of forcing someone to give you money or do what you want: · Police raided the building where rebels were holding 73 government employees captive.hold sb prisoner/captive/hostage in/at etc something: · Four other US citizens are being held hostage by guerrillas in Colombia.· The woman had been held prisoner in Larkin's basement for 3 months.
informal to put someone in a place, especially a prison, and lock it so that they cannot escape: lock somebody up/away: · Didn't they lock his brother away for murder?lock up/away somebody: · The governor argues that locking up criminals has reduced the crime rate.· Prisoners are locked up in their cells for twenty three hours a day.
to keep someone in a room or small place, so that they cannot go where they want to: confine somebody in something: · The boy had been confined in a dark narrow room from early childhood by his parents.confine somebody to something: · The judge is confining the jury to their hotel until after the verdict.
if the police detain someone who they think has done something illegal, they keep them somewhere, usually in order to ask them questions: · Three men from the ship have been detained for questioning by the Harbour Authorities.· The police are now allowed to detain terrorist suspects for as long as a week.
if the police hold or keep someone in custody they keep them in prison until it is time for them to be judged in a court: · McCullough will be kept in custody until her trial on May 3rd.hold/keep somebody in police custody (=in a police station): · A man has been arrested in connection with the murder and is being held in police custody.
to be kept in a place by the police if someone who the police think is guilty of a crime is in custody , they are kept in prison until it is time for them to be judged in a law court: · The twenty-seven militants now in custody were arrested in raids last month.be in police custody: · An inquiry has been launched following the death of a man in police custody.be held in custody: · A woman is being held in custody in connection with the murder.be remanded in custody British (=be sent back to prison from a court until your trial): · Naylor was remanded in custody by Huyton magistrates until June 17th.
if someone is under arrest , the police are keeping them guarded because they think they are guilty of a crime: · Police confirmed last night that Mr Joshi is under arrest.be under arrest for: · I'm afraid your son is under arrest for theft.
to be kept somewhere by the police or army so that you cannot leave, and especially so that they can ask you questions: · On Tuesday last week, Finnegan was detained and questioned by fraud squad officers.be detained for: · He was detained for questioning about the terrorist attacks.
WORD SETSalarmed, adjectiveallegation, nounamnesty, nounbail, nounbreath test, nouncharge sheet, nouncircumstantial, adjectivecompensation, nouncompensatory, adjectivecomplicity, nouncondemned, adjectivecondemned cell, nounconfess, verbconfession, nounconman, nouncontraband, nouncuff, verbdebug, verbdetain, verbdick, nounenforce, verbfed, nounFederal Bureau of Investigation, nounflogging, nounforensic, adjectivegallows, noungaolbird, noungas chamber, noungibbet, nounguillotine, nounhang, verbhanging, nounhard labour, nounimpeach, verbKC, nounlaunder, verblawsuit, nounleg irons, nounlicensed, adjectivelicensing laws, nounlife, nounlife sentence, nounline-up, nounlynch, verblynch mob, nounpenalty point, nounpenology, nounpolygraph, nounposse, nounprisoner, nounracket, nounracketeer, nounracketeering, nounrake-off, nounransom, nounransom, verbreport, verbreprieve, nounriot, nounshop, verbsilk, nounspeed trap, nounstalker, nounstrip search, nountransport, verbtransportation, nountribunal, nounundercover, adjectivevictim, nounwrongdoing, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Two suspects have been detained by the police for questioning.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1to officially prevent someone from leaving a place: Two suspects have been detained by the police for questioning.· Detectives arrested the suspect after a five-day undercover operation.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· The police now have up to ninety-six hours, i.e. four days and nights, to detain people without charge.· After her husband's life sentence, Mrs Sisulu, 68, was detained without charge twice.· In the 1970s he was detained without charge or trial for five years and tortured and held for long periods in leg-irons.· Nearly all the political prisoners are detained without charges and never brought to trial.· Since 1970 hundreds of Jehovah's Witnesses have been detained without charge or trial for up to five years.· By 1984, it had crystallized into a firm time control on the police power to detain without charge.
· Her husband, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, was detained in hospital and sedated pending geriatric assessment.· Twenty-four passengers were still being detained in two Dublin hospitals last night with fractures, and one with spinal injuries.· Five were detained in hospital, including two fascists, and one doctor saw between fifty and seventy victims.· Only four people - two policemen and two civilians - were detained in hospital.· All are detained in Darlington Memorial Hospital.· A person can be detained in hospital for treatment on health grounds under section three of the Mental Health Act.· Psychiatric reports were eventually obtained and recommended that he should be detained in hospital for treatment, not in prison.· Wardens, Suninder Gogner and Christine Hoy-Taylor, were detained overnight in hospital and their condition yesterday was comfortable.
· It also said that 1,751 people had been detained without trial due to their political affiliation.· A van full of immigrants arrived early this afternoon, the first people to be detained at the centre.· A further 57 people were detained bringing the number interviewed to more than 1,000 since Operation Bumblebee began in January.· Returnees were among 40 people detained in Muyinga province, in the northeast.· Up to 8,000 people would be detained under the Tory crackdown, she claimed.· Since 1981 hundreds of people have been detained under this law, some for more than eight years.· Most of the defendants were among 21 people detained by police as they left the conference.
· The constable must not be exceeding his authority, such as detaining a person without a power of arrest.
· As an immediate response to the killing the police detained more than 200 people in the Zawiya al-Hamra district of Cairo.· His body was found in the sports complex where police had taken those detained.· The police detained Akaluka for his own protection.· State officials said the visiting police helped state agents detain 12 people and recuperate 12 stolen cars.· In another move to silence criticism, police on Thursday detained the paper's editor, Rudolf Zeman.· His threat came after the former head of the secret police was detained in Belgrade.· Su picked out eight or nine men, and the police detained them.· One of the men had even helped to shift bales of hay before police arrived and detained the pair.
· It also said that 1,751 people had been detained without trial due to their political affiliation.· In the 1970s he was detained without charge or trial for five years and tortured and held for long periods in leg-irons.· Since 1970 hundreds of Jehovah's Witnesses have been detained without charge or trial for up to five years.· He was previously detained without trial from September 1989 until April 1990 when he was released uncharged.
Two suspects have been detained by the police for questioning. She was detained in hospital with a suspected broken leg.2 formal to stop someone from leaving as soon as they expected SYN delay: He was detained in Washington on urgent business.GRAMMAR Detain is often passive in this meaning.