holding cells
Short-term jail rooms
Holding cells are temporary detention rooms in police stations, courthouses, or jails where people wait before booking, arraignment, or transfer.
Unlike permanent cells, they're designed for short stays—hours rather than days: They kept him in a holding cell overnight until his bail hearing.
The term sometimes extends metaphorically to any transitional space where people are stuck waiting.
Detention facility
- lockupTemporary detention facility
- brigShipboard detention quarters
- guardhouseSentry post structure
- detention centerPlace for confining detainees
cellblock · cage · pen · precinct · police station · courthouse · processing center · remand center
Person held in custody
- arresteeOne taken into custody
- suspectBelieve to be likely
- prisonerConfined criminal detainee
- inmateConfined facility resident
remand · pretrial · awaiting trial · bail hearing · arraignment · booking · processing · intake
Of limited duration
- transientTemporary, soon departing
- interimProvisional in-between phase
- overnightSpanning evening to morning
- provisionalConditional and possibly temporary
pretrial · awaiting · processing · screening · admission · transfer · brief · hours
Watchful defensive attention
- barsRods, taverns, or measures
- lockMechanism requiring a key
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- checkpointInspection station on route
barrier · access control · restricted area · monitoring · secure · patrol · warden · officer
jail
Detention facility
- lockupTemporary detention facility
- brigShipboard detention quarters
- guardhouseSentry post structure
detention center · cellblock · cage · pen · precinct · police station · courthouse · processing center · remand center · stockade
detainee
Person held in custody
inmate · remand · pretrial · awaiting trial · bail hearing · arraignment · booking · processing · intake · custody
short-term
Of limited duration
- transientTemporary, soon departing
- interimProvisional in-between phase
- overnightSpanning evening to morning
provisional · pretrial · awaiting · processing · screening · admission · transfer · brief · hours · temporary detention
guard
Watchful defensive attention
- barsRods, taverns, or measures
- lockMechanism requiring a key
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
checkpoint · barrier · access control · restricted area · monitoring · secure · patrol · warden · officer · badge
- prisonsprison, inmates, cells, prisons, prisoner
- imprisonmentprison, jail, prisoners, cells, captivity
- detentionjail, detention centers, captive, prison, detention orders
- police station partsprecinct, squad room, lockup, duty desk, evidence room
- police stationspolice station, station house, precinct, headquarters, cop shop
- criminal justicearrest, jail, court, prison, crime
holding cellspenitentiaries
Institutions housing convicted criminals
state prisons · federal prisons · life sentences · death row
holding cellsfreedom
Absence of constraint
liberty · open spaces · release · free passage · emancipation
holding cellshome
One's personal residence
sanctuary · private residence · living room · bedroom · safe haven
hold, cell, holder, holding, uphold, withhold, holds, behold, withholding