detain C1 Topic:Actions & Processes US /dɪˈteɪn/ UK /dɪˈteɪn/ See IPA manual Freq #14611 Meanings 1 verb To officially hold someone and prevent them from leaving, especially by the police. The police detained him for questioning. 2 verb To delay someone or keep them from leaving. I won't detain you any longer; thank you for your time. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to officially hold someone... intern 2 verb · to delay someone or keep... delayhold back Word family Forms detaineddetainingdetains Derived forms detainabledetaineedetainerdetaininglydetainmentdetentionredetain Etymology AI details From Old French detenir. Doublet of détente. Cognate with Italian detenere, Portuguese deter, Romanian deține, and Spanish detener. *ten- Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics Actions & Processes External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # detain **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /dɪˈteɪn/ **IPA (UK):** /dɪˈteɪn/ **Frequency rank:** 14611 ## Meanings 1. To officially hold someone and prevent them from leaving, especially by the police. 2. To delay someone or keep them from leaving. ## Examples - The police detained him for questioning. - I won't detain you any longer; thank you for your time. ## Derived Forms - detainable - detainee - detainer - detainingly - detainment - detention - redetain ## Roots and Affixes - Root: *ten- ## Etymology From Old French detenir. Doublet of détente. Cognate with Italian detenere, Portuguese deter, Romanian deține, and Spanish detener. ## AI Etymology Detain comes from Old French detenir. Doublet of détente. Cognate with Italian detenere, Portuguese deter, Romanian deține, and Spanish detener. The historical chain includes *ten- (Proto-Indo-European). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as detainable, detainee, detainer, and detainingly. In present use it covers to officially hold someone and prevent them from leaving, especially by the police and to delay someone or keep them from leaving. ## Topics - Actions & Processes markdown