"detain" meaning in English

See detain in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /dɪˈteɪn/ [UK] Audio: en-us-detain.ogg [US] Forms: detain [canonical], detains [third-person, singular], detained [past], detained [past, participle], detaining [present, participle]
Head templates: {{verb}} [POS TABLE]
  1. If you detain someone, you prevent them from proceeding by holding them back.
    Sense id: simple-detain-en-verb-qJhtVKGC
  2. If a person is detained, they are put under custody.
    Sense id: simple-detain-en-verb-wAh5h7Nn
  3. If goods are detained, they are seized for official purposes.
    Sense id: simple-detain-en-verb-1Apapm~Y
     
{
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      "form": "detained",
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    {
      "form": "detained",
      "tags": [
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    },
    {
      "form": "detaining",
      "tags": [
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    }
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  "head_templates": [
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
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  "senses": [
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      "glosses": [
        "If you detain someone, you prevent them from proceeding by holding them back."
      ],
      "id": "simple-detain-en-verb-qJhtVKGC",
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        "transitive"
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    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "If a person is detained, they are put under custody."
      ],
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    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "If goods are detained, they are seized for official purposes."
      ],
      "id": "simple-detain-en-verb-1Apapm~Y",
      "raw_tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "ipa": "/dɪˈteɪn/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
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      "audio": "en-us-detain.ogg",
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      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
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}

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      "form": "detain",
      "tags": [
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      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "detains",
      "tags": [
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        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "detained",
      "tags": [
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      ]
    },
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If you detain someone, you prevent them from proceeding by holding them back."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Transitive verbs"
      ],
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        "If a person is detained, they are put under custody."
      ],
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        "transitive"
      ]
    },
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      "categories": [
        "Transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If goods are detained, they are seized for official purposes."
      ],
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        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/dɪˈteɪn/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
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      "audio": "en-us-detain.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "detain"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-04-16 from the simplewiktionary dump dated 2025-04-03 using wiktextract (b0b7a66 and 3185d56). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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