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
The boy and his father were released from a detention center in Dilley, Texas, on Saturday, after a judge issued a ruling earlier in the day.
—
Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 2 Feb. 2026
Soon after Franyelis met with the lawyer, Yonquenide again called her from detention – a routine call, like from a parent away on a business trip but for the recorded voice stating the name of the detention center and the detainee and a prompt to press #1 to accept the call.
—Maeva Bambuck, CNN Money, 1 Feb. 2026
Last year, Homeland Security filed 322 pretermission motions in Denver Immigration Court and another 203 in cases involving detainees at Aurora’s ICE detention center, according to Gunther and Marrow’s analysis.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
Hannah Lindenberg, a protestor outside of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which houses an ICE detention center, said that even if Menendez ruled in favor shutting down the operations, the decision still wouldn't go far enough.
—Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 31 Jan. 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.
Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 2 Feb. 2026
Soon after Franyelis met with the lawyer, Yonquenide again called her from detention – a routine call, like from a parent away on a business trip but for the recorded voice stating the name of the detention center and the detainee and a prompt to press #1 to accept the call.
—Maeva Bambuck, CNN Money, 1 Feb. 2026
Last year, Homeland Security filed 322 pretermission motions in Denver Immigration Court and another 203 in cases involving detainees at Aurora’s ICE detention center, according to Gunther and Marrow’s analysis.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
Hannah Lindenberg, a protestor outside of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which houses an ICE detention center, said that even if Menendez ruled in favor shutting down the operations, the decision still wouldn't go far enough.
—Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 31 Jan. 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 2 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
