What does detainer mean?
A detainer is the holding or keeping in custody of a person, or the withholding of property from someone entitled to it — a term that lives almost entirely within the language of law. In criminal and immigration contexts, a detainer is typically a formal request or order, such as when one jurisdiction asks another to continue holding a prisoner, or when immigration authorities lodge a detainer with a local jail so that a person can be transferred into their custody after release. In property law, notably in many US states, an 'unlawful detainer' is a swift court action by which a landlord recovers possession of premises from a tenant who refuses to leave. The word derives from the French détenir and ultimately Latin tenere, 'to hold', making its meaning transparently literal. Because it is bound to specific legal procedures, detainer rarely appears in casual conversation, but it is indispensable vocabulary for reading court records, housing notices, and news coverage of immigration enforcement.
nounThe act or state of detaining someone, especially the unlawful withholding of a person's liberty or of another person's property; in law, a detention or the keeping in custody of a person or goods.
- The act of detaining a person, or a legal order (such as an immigration detainer) directing authorities to keep someone in custody.
- In property law, the wrongful withholding of possession of land or premises from its rightful owner, as in 'unlawful detainer'.
"The prisoner was held under a federal detainer while awaiting trial in another state."
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer with the county jail, asking it to hold the inmate beyond his release date."
"The landlord filed an unlawful detainer action to recover possession of the apartment."
The plural is used mainly when referring to multiple legal holds or orders, such as several detainers lodged against the same inmate by different jurisdictions.
"The inmate had outstanding detainers from three different states."
In US law, an 'unlawful detainer' is not a person — it's the technical name for wrongfully refusing to give up possession of a property.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of detainer
Detainer comes from Anglo-Norman and Old French detener ('to hold back'), from the Latin verb detinēre, formed from de- ('away') plus tenēre ('to hold'). It entered English in Middle English as both a verb and a noun, with the noun becoming firmly established in legal English through the courts that operated in Law French after the Norman Conquest. It shares this Latin root with words such as retain, contain, tenant, and tenure.
Related word forms
How detainer is actually used
Predominantly a formal legal term used in court documents and statutes rather than everyday speech. In American usage, 'detainer' most often appears in two fixed legal phrases: 'unlawful detainer' (a summary proceeding to recover possession of real property) and 'immigration detainer' (a request to hold a person for possible transfer to immigration authorities). Outside these contexts, 'detention' is usually preferred.
Easily confused with detainer
A detainer is a specific legal instrument or act of holding a person or property (often one jurisdiction's hold on someone already in custody), whereas detention is the general state or period of being held.