(historical) An apparatus for recording the time when a watchman visits a station on his rounds.

A timepiece provided with a device for registering and indicating the exact time when a watchman visits certain stations on his beat.

(idiomatic) investigative research

To make one's own decisions without outside interference.

(law) a court order authorising the detention of a person following his arrest or pending any procedural activity (interrogation, examination, trial, etc.).

(railways) A bar, connected with a switch, longer than the distance between any two consecutive wheels of a train, laid inside a rail and operated by the wheels so that the switch cannot be thrown until the entire train has passed the switch.

plural of detector bar

holding cell.

plural of detention cell

plural of youth detention centre