detention center
noun
1
: a place where people who have entered a country illegally are kept for a period of time
2
: a place where people who have committed crimes are kept as punishment
She spent several months in a detention center for women.
a juvenile detention center
Examples of detention center in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As the federal government’s immigration crackdown moves closer to the Bay Area, about 100 people gathered Saturday afternoon at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose to protest plans to build a detention center in Gilroy.
—
Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 31 May 2026
Police try to hold the line as protesters push the fences outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
—Mark Prussin, CBS News, 31 May 2026
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who last year was arrested outside Delaney Hall during an oversight visit, later imposed a nightly curfew around the detention center, citing public safety concerns.
—Adam Reiss, NBC news, 31 May 2026
By Saturday morning, the immigrant detention center had been transformed into a fortified zone surrounded by large orange plastic barricades and metal fencing.
—Stephen Sorace , Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for detention center
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 31 May 2026
Police try to hold the line as protesters push the fences outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
—Mark Prussin, CBS News, 31 May 2026
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who last year was arrested outside Delaney Hall during an oversight visit, later imposed a nightly curfew around the detention center, citing public safety concerns.
—Adam Reiss, NBC news, 31 May 2026
By Saturday morning, the immigrant detention center had been transformed into a fortified zone surrounded by large orange plastic barricades and metal fencing.
—Stephen Sorace , Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for detention center
Cite this Entry
“Detention center.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detention%20center. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
