Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   detention

   /dɪˈtɛnʃn/

   noun

   • 1. the action of detaining someone or the state of being detained in official custody: "the fifteen people arrested were still in police detention"
   • ▪ the punishment of being kept in school after hours: "teachers were divided as to the effectiveness of detention"

   Word Origin late Middle English (in the sense ‘withholding of what is claimed or due’): from late Latin detentio(n-), from Latin detinere ‘hold back’ (see detain).

   Scrabble Points: 10

   • D

     2

   • E

     1

   • T

     1

   • E

     1

   • N

     1

   • T

     1

   • I

     1

   • O

     1

   • N

     1

   Powered by Oxford Dictionaries

   More definitions, origin and scrabble points