Definition of "detainer" [de•tain•er]

• A withholding from the rightful owner of property that has lawfully come into the possession of the current holder. (noun)
• The detention of a person, especially in custody. (noun)
• A writ authorizing the further detention of a person in custody, pending further action. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The detainer is a request that a law enforcement agency notify ICE before releasing that person, so that ICE may take over custody."
• "A detainer is a request from ICE that the local jail hold the individual in custody for up to 48 hours during which ICE decides whether or not to assume custody of the person and initiate deportation procedures."
• "Rep. 332. tender the pawnee keeps the goods, and they are ftolen, 0wcn '** • die pawnee muftanfwer; for now his property is deter - mined, and he is a wrongful detainer; and he that keeps goods by wrong mull anfwer for them at peril, in all events; for his detainer is the reafon of the lofs."