Detainment

de·tain  (d-tn)

tr.v. de·tained, de·tain·ing, de·tains

1. To keep from proceeding; delay or retard.

2. To keep in custody or temporary confinement: The police detained several suspects for questioning. The disruptive students were detained after school until their parents had been notified.

3. Obsolete To retain or withhold (payment or property, for example).

---

[Middle English deteinen, from Old French detenir, from Vulgar Latin *dtenre, from Latin dtinre : d-, de- + tenre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

---

de·tainment n.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

detainment - a state of being confined (usually for a short time); "his detention was politically motivated"; "the prisoner is on hold"; "he is in the custody of police" custody, detention, hold confinement - the state of being confined; "he was held in confinement"