How to Use detention in a Sentence

detention

noun
Definition of detentionnext
Synonyms for detentionnext
  • The jail is only used for brief detentions.
  • He got detention for being late to class.
  • They both got three detentions this year.
  • The detention of the two activists is a sign of the times.
    — Anna Gordon, TIME, 23 Oct. 2023
  • The third bit, of course, leans into a school/detention joke.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 31 Mar. 2023
  • The detention had been extended in August through at least Nov. 30, the press service of the court said at the time.
    — Kevin Shalvey, ABC News, 27 Nov. 2023
  • My team had been told I’d been transferred from detention but didn’t know when or where.
    — Brittney Griner, TIME, 3 May 2024
  • That youth is due back in court for a detention hearing on May 15 and also may be tried as an adult.
    — Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2024
  • And now Guo will spend the night in jail, after pleading not guilty and consenting to detention.
    — Bob Van Voris, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2023
  • Why is there such a strong reaction to Khan’s detention?
    — Riazat Butt, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2023
  • Every old farm field, railroad right of way, and shopping center detention basin is chock full of the stinky trees.
    — Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 22 Mar. 2024
  • His detention of about two years was the longest for an American.
    — Time, 19 July 2023
  • The two staffers may be a combination of one deputy and one detention deputy, but never two unarmed deputies.
    — Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Aug. 2023
  • The protests in Iran, sparked by the Sept. 16 death of a 22-year-old woman after her detention by the country’s morality police, weigh heavy on her.
    — Robert Scheer, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Dec. 2022
  • More than a million have been sent to detention centers, forced to denounce Islam and swear fealty to Xi and the party.
    — Jon Gambrell, ajc, 9 Dec. 2022
  • His wife, Vida, also a U.S. citizen, was in Iran at the time of his detention and was barred from leaving the country.
    — Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 19 Sep. 2023
  • However, while still living abroad to avoid detention, she was cleared in March.
    — Koh Ewe, TIME, 31 May 2024
  • At a preschool carnival, the two joke about having been to juvenile detention over the summer.
    — Olivia McCormack, Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2023
  • Soto was hired by the Sheriff’s Department in 1998 as a detentions and court services deputy.
    — David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 May 2023
  • The judge then raised the issue of how to proceed with a detention hearing with Edwards' mental fitness in question.
    — Rich Schapiro, NBC News, 5 Feb. 2023
  • The state will now instead pay 75% of those costs, but still cover only 50% of the cost of detention and longer-term residential placement.
    — Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, 13 Dec. 2023
  • Prosecutors asked the court to impose a sentence of 90 days of home detention and three years of probation, court records show.
    — Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 5 Nov. 2022
  • Last month, a Moscow court refused to hear an appeal against his pre-trial detention.
    — Darya Tarasova, CNN, 23 Oct. 2023
  • Mexico now has the largest migrant detention system in the hemisphere.
    — TIME, 9 Apr. 2024
  • His detention is expected to last util at least July 2, according to the court.
    — Tanya Stukalova, ABC News, 16 May 2024
  • Finally, agents showed up and led the Chinese men, along with others, to a Border Patrol bus waiting to take them off to detention.
    — Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2024
  • His brother will return to court next Thursday to have his detention reviewed.
    — oregonlive, 4 Nov. 2022
  • Youths ages 11 to 18 in Kentucky can be sent to juvenile detention centers.
    — Jeanne Houck, The Enquirer, 18 Dec. 2022
  • Many of the students posted photos on social media of them wearing the shirts together, and some were sitting in detention.
    — Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 21 Dec. 2024
  • In addition, detentions on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia since the start of the war.
    — Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'detention.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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