detain
/dɪˈteɪn/verb
detain is spelled D-E-T-A-I-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, detain means “To keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in detain?
| Letters | 6: D-E-T-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,073rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is detain?
Detain appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce detain?
- UK /dɪˈteɪn/
Detain has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-detain.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with detain?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as detain from its last stressed vowel (/eɪn/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: tienda.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of detain
- detains present, singular, he/she/it
- detaining participle, present
- detained participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does detain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay.
- 2
To keep someone from proceeding by holding them back or making claims on their attention.
- 3
archaicTo keep back or from; to withhold.
- 4
To put someone under custody.
- 5
To seize goods for official purposes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Detain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does detain come from?
From Old French detenir. Doublet of détente. Cognate with Italian detenere, Portuguese deter, Romanian deține, and Spanish detener.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).