detention camp
1
6.2
- noun
- /dɪˈtɛnʃən kæmp/
- US
- The detention camp was built to rehabilitate young offenders.
Examples
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Conditions at the detention camp were monitored by the state authorities.
-
Many young offenders spend several weeks in a detention camp before their cases are resolved.
-
The judge ordered the teenager to be placed in a detention camp until his next hearing.
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Many teenagers were sent to a detention camp for their behavior.
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The judge ordered that the young offenders be placed in a detention camp for rehabilitation.
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After committing several minor crimes, she was sent to a detention camp designed for troubled youth.
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The juvenile detention camp emphasized education and counseling to help its residents improve their behavior.
Synonyms
48
9.9
A place where young people are held for crimes
36
4.6
A place where people are kept for a short time, like prisoners or migrants, while their case is decided
15
6.3
A locked place where young people who break the law are kept
4
8.3
A place where young people who break the law are sent to be taught to behave better
1
6.5
A place where young people who have broken the law stay temporarily under court supervision
1
7.7
A place where young people who broke the law are kept by the court for a short time
A place where authorities keep young people for a short time after breaking the law
Antonyms
How Secure
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'detention' (being kept in custody) + 'camp' (a temporary site where people stay), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer a place where people are held temporarily. This compound follows a common noun+noun pattern and has close cross-linguistic equivalents, making the sense predictable despite some domain-specific nuance about migrants or asylum seekers.
Etymology
Detention camp comes from the simple image of detention (being kept) and a camp (a temporary, watched place with fences or cabins). Picture young people staying in a guarded camp until a judge decides their case, so the phrase means 'a place where juvenile offenders are held temporarily'.