CUSTODY

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does custody mean? 

• CUSTODY (noun)
  The noun CUSTODY has 3 senses:

1. a state of being confined (usually for a short time)

2. holding by the police

3. (with 'in') guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child

  Familiarity information: CUSTODY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CUSTODY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A state of being confined (usually for a short time)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

custody; detainment; detention; hold

Context example:

he is in the custody of police

Hypernyms ("custody" is a kind of...):

confinement (the state of being confined)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Holding by the police

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the suspect is in custody

Hypernyms ("custody" is a kind of...):

imprisonment; internment (the act of confining someone in a prison (or as if in a prison))

Sense 3

Meaning:

(with 'in') guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

custody; hands

Context example:

the mother was awarded custody of the children

Hypernyms ("custody" is a kind of...):

guardianship; keeping; safekeeping (the responsibility of a guardian or keeper)

Derivation:

custodial (providing protective supervision; watching over or safeguarding)

 Context examples 

I called in the inspector and gave him into custody.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And that is quite impossible; for he is now in the custody of his friend, and Mr. Darcy would no more suffer him to call on Jane in such a part of London!

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

“Give it to the superintendent at the police-station. Until he comes, I must detain you all under my personal custody.”

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This same full moon lunar eclipse might settle a child custody case, and hopefully, you will feel the agreed-upon solution is a good one.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

All the species listed under these categories have been granted full protection by environmental agencies, and capture, transport, storage, custody, handling, processing, and marketing of these animals is prohibited.

(Over 300 animal species threatened in Bahia, Agência Brasil)

That when Miss Murdstone took her into custody and led her away, she smiled and gave me her delicious hand.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Before he quitted Redriff, he left the custody of the following papers in my hands, with the liberty to dispose of them as I should think fit.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

I desire his safe custody in order that this matter may be cleared up, and I call upon you, as a magistrate, to execute your warrant.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The muscular hand broke from my custody; my arm was seized, my shoulder—neck—waist—I was entwined and gathered to him.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I knocked him down, and the police have him in custody; but I can tell you with the most absolute confidence that no possible connection will ever be traced between the gentleman upon whose front teeth I have barked my knuckles and the retiring mathematical coach, who is, I daresay, working out problems upon a blackboard ten miles away.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)