detención

detention

noun deh-ten-SYOHN Less Common

Also means

arrest

Usage Note

Detención covers both the act of stopping (la detención del tráfico, 'the stopping of traffic') and a police arrest or detention. In legal and journalistic contexts it most commonly means a short-term police hold before a formal charge — distinct from prisión (imprisonment) and arresto. The verb is detener, which also means simply 'to stop' or 'to halt.'

Examples

"La policía realizó varias detenciones anoche."

Natural Translation

The police made several arrests last night.

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