detain
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detain
- /dɪˈteɪn/ UK
Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
From Old French detenir. Doublet of détente. Cognate with Italian detenere, Portuguese deter, Romanian deține, and Spanish detener.
verb detains · detaining · detained
- To keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay.
- To keep someone from proceeding by holding them back or making claims on their attention.
- To keep back or from; to withhold. Detain not the wages of the hireling: […]
- To put someone under custody. In April of 2009, however, the disease was found to suddenly no longer be appearing in newly-hatched chickens, and, upon review, it was discovered that Dr. Wildcat had modified 6002 without authorization, removing the disease from the genome. She's detained and questioned by Muller, and, even though
- To seize goods for official purposes.
