detain

de-tain · verb

imported

Definitions

verb

  1. 1.

    To keep someone from proceeding by holding them back or making claims on their attention.

  2. 2.

    To keep someone in official custody, typically for questioning about a crime or in a political context.

  3. 3.

    To hold in a particular place.

Related words

Antonyms: free, liberate, release
See also: arrest, detention, hold
Synonyms: arrest, confine, delay, hold, keep

Etymology

From Old French detenir, from Latin detinere meaning "to hold back," from de- meaning "away, from" and tenere meaning "to hold."