# protective custody

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. Lawful confinement of a person or close supervision of his or her movements, on a voluntary or involuntary basis, by authorities in order to safeguard that person from attack or other dangers.
2. The custody that CPS sometimes takes of children when those children are being abused or neglected and no other corrective action is successful or feasible.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/protective-custody