detain
Valid in Scrabble
- Scrabble points
- 7
- Words With Friends
- 8
- Letters
- 6
Definition of detain
5 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included
verb
- (transitive)To keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay.
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verb
- (transitive)To keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay.
- (transitive)To keep someone from proceeding by holding them back or making claims on their attention.
-
(archaic, transitive)To keep back or from; to withhold.
“Detain not the wages of the hireling.”
-
(transitive)To put someone under custody.
“In April of 2009, however, the disease was found to suddenly no longer be appearing in newly-hatched chickens, and, upon review, it was discovered that Dr. Wildcat had modified 6002 without authorization, removing the disease from the genome. She's detained and questioned by Muller, and, even though she tries to lie that she didn't do anything, they have footage of her ascending the tree on her own.”
- (transitive)To seize goods for official purposes.
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
From Old French detenir. Doublet of détente. Cognate with Italian detenere, Portuguese deter, Romanian deține, and Spanish detener.
Words you can make from detain
79 playable · top: NIDATE (7 pts)
Best play nidate 7 points5-letter words
7 words4-letter words
26 words3-letter words
27 words2-letter words
18 wordsHooks
1 extension · 1 back
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