- 1[uncountable] the state of being kept in a place, especially a prison, and prevented from leaving a sentence of 12 months' detention in a juvenile detention center police powers of arrest and detention allegations of torture and detention without trial a detention camp
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- 2[uncountable, countable] the punishment of being kept at school for a time after other students have gone home They can't give me (a) detention for this. see detain
Check pronunciation: detention