The Collaborative International Dictionary
Detain \De*tain"\ (d[-e]*t[=a]n"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Detained; p. pr. & vb. n. Detaining.] [F. d['e]tenir, L. detinere, detentum; de + tenere to hold. See Tenable.]
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To keep back or from; to withhold.
Detain not the wages of the hireling.
--Jer. Taylor. -
To restrain from proceeding; to stay or stop; to delay; as, we were detained by an accident.
Let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
--Judges xiii. 15. -
To hold or keep in custody.
Syn: To withhold; retain; stop; stay; arrest; check; retard; delay; hinder.
Wiktionary
vb. (present participle of detain English)
Usage examples of "detaining".
He doated upon detaining her by his side, or delighted to gratify her if she wished to be absent.
Saracens expressed his regard for the most humble merit, by detaining the army at Aleppo till Dames was cured of his honorable wounds.
I had had the honor of being your friend, instead of only having the happiness of being under an obligation to you, I should insist on detaining you to dinner, and not allow myself to be daunted by a first refusal.
It was also possible that whoever was detaining him in France had absolutely no idea of whom they had captured, since Armand had probably been in disguise at the time, and therefore it was more essential than ever to keep his identity a secret.
She had always poured out tea for him, but not always with him close by, and his detaining hand upon her dress.
Remove the detaining iron bar, and the released flotilla would sail downward to the mouth of the drain and deliver its yellow freight of gold to whomsoever waited to receive it.
But though the king, by detaining James in the English court, had shown himself somewhat deficient in generosity, he made ample amends by giving that prince an excellent education, which afterwards qualified him, when he mounted the throne, to reform in some measure the rude and barbarous manners of his native country.