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
Sachar's book follows Stanley Yelnats, played by LaBeouf in the movie, as he is sent to a boys' desert detention center after being wrongfully convicted of theft.
—
Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 28 Dec. 2025
Jeanette Vizguerra, the immigration activist who's been living in Colorado since 1997, spoke to supporters in Denver on Tuesday for the first time since her release from the GEO Group immigration detention center in Aurora on Monday.
—CBS News, 24 Dec. 2025
The warden of the detention center told reporters and one of Vizguerra’s lawyers that media and other observers were prohibited from watching because of the attention the case had received.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 23 Dec. 2025
Precisely $6,370 in phone calls to the detention center.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detention center
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Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 28 Dec. 2025
Jeanette Vizguerra, the immigration activist who's been living in Colorado since 1997, spoke to supporters in Denver on Tuesday for the first time since her release from the GEO Group immigration detention center in Aurora on Monday.
—CBS News, 24 Dec. 2025
The warden of the detention center told reporters and one of Vizguerra’s lawyers that media and other observers were prohibited from watching because of the attention the case had received.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 23 Dec. 2025
Precisely $6,370 in phone calls to the detention center.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 21 Dec. 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 31 Dec. 2025.
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