detainv. t.[F. dtenir, L. detinere, detentum; de + tenere to hold. See Tenable.]1. To keep back or from; to withhold.()Detain not the wages of the hireling. (Jer. Taylor.)2. 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.)3. To hold or keep in custody.()()n. Detention.(Spenser.)