Word · Frequency #6059
detain
扣留；拘留
to keep someone under arrest or in custody, especially for legal reasons
常指官方或警方依法扣留人
- 1.
To keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay.
阻止某事进行或完成；延迟
- 2.
To keep someone from proceeding by holding them back or making claims on their attention.
通过阻止或吸引注意力使某人无法前进
- 3.
To put someone under custody.
拘留某人
- 4.
To seize goods for official purposes.
为官方目的扣押货物
耽搁；延误；阻止某事进行或完成；延迟；通过阻止或吸引注意力使某人无法前进；拘留某人；为官方目的扣押货物
In use
The teacher detained the student after class to finish the test.
An unexpected visitor detained me at the office, so I am late.
The security guard may detain anyone who enters the restricted area.
detain sb
sb指被官方扣押的人，常用于法律语境。
The police detained the suspect for further questioning.
警方拘留了嫌疑人以进一步讯问。
detain sb for sth
sth可以是名词或动名词，表示拘留的原因。
The authorities detained him for illegal entry.
当局因非法入境拘留了他。
detain sth
用于物时表示耽搁或延误，常用被动。
Connections
Collocations
- detain someone
- 扣留某人
- The police detained the suspect for questioning.警方扣留嫌疑人进行审问。
- detain for questioning
- 拘留审问
- He was detained for questioning about the incident.他因该事件被拘留审问。
- detain without trial
- 未经审判拘留
- The government detained political prisoners without trial.政府未经审判拘留政治犯。
- detain in custody
- 在押拘留
- The court ordered that he be detained in custody.法院命令将他羁押。
- detain indefinitely
- 无限期拘留
- The authorities can detain suspects indefinitely without charge.当局可以无限期拘留嫌疑人而不起诉。
- be detained by
Learner notes
Memory Tip
“抵逮”谐音，想象抵达后即被逮捕扣留。
Context & Register
常用于正式或法律语境，表示“扣留、拘留”时常见于警察、海关等执法场景；表示“耽搁”时较为中性，可用于日常。注意该词为及物动词。
Pronunciation & Spelling
Words like 'contain', 'maintain', 'retain', 'obtain' rhyme with 'detain' (stressed /eɪn/). Note: 'certain' and 'curtain' share the '-tain' spelling but have a different vowel sound (/ɜːr/).
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 2，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.