protective custody

See synonyms for protective custody on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. detention of a person by the police solely as protection against a possible attack or reprisal by someone.

Origin of protective custody

1
First recorded in 1935–40

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use protective custody in a sentence

  • They then left him to the care of the prison doctor in protective custody.

    Games | Katherine MacLean