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
Combs’ defense team insist 14 months is a more adequate punishment, which would translate to his near-immediate release from a federal detention center in Brooklyn for time served.
—
Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Oct. 2025
He was moved last month from a Virginia facility to a detention center in Pennsylvania.
—Laura Romero, ABC News, 1 Oct. 2025
That low percentage suggests that detention center staff are misusing strip searches, said Dana Flores, senior manager for youth justice in Colorado at the National Center for Youth Law.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025
Much already has been made about the film’s opening sequence in which the revolutionary group the French 75 free Mexican immigrants from a detention center at the border and provide safe harbor.
—Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detention center
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Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Oct. 2025
He was moved last month from a Virginia facility to a detention center in Pennsylvania.
—Laura Romero, ABC News, 1 Oct. 2025
That low percentage suggests that detention center staff are misusing strip searches, said Dana Flores, senior manager for youth justice in Colorado at the National Center for Youth Law.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025
Much already has been made about the film’s opening sequence in which the revolutionary group the French 75 free Mexican immigrants from a detention center at the border and provide safe harbor.
—Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
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 8 Oct. 2025.
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