Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use custody in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun

Custody means the legal right to take care of something or somebody, especially children. Example: “The court awarded custody to the child's father.”

Examples of custody by meaning

nounThe legal right to take care of something or somebody, especially children.

  • The court awarded custody to the child's father.
  • The mother gained custody of the children.

nounTemporary possession or care of somebody else's property.

  • I couldn't pay the bill and now my passport is in custody of the hotel management.

nounThe state of being imprisoned or detained, usually pending a trial.

  • He was mistreated while in police custody.
  • Original petition for writ of habeas corpus to obtain release from custody under sentence to five years imprisonment for aiding coprisoners in endeavors to escape from jail.1958, Southern Reporter. Second Series, page 297

nounAn area under the jurisdiction of a custos within the Order of Friars Minor.

  • The Custody of the Holy Land includes the monasteries of Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem.

More sentences with custody

  • The journalists have been held in custody for three years without trial.From the entry trial
  • The Prime Minister announced a thorough investigation into the death of a father-of-two in police custody.From the entry thorough
  • When assigning custody, the preference of the child will be considered, but it is not determinative.From the entry determinative
  • His resentful attitude only made matters worse during the custody proceedings.From the entry make matters worse
  • I found him in the middle of a custody battle with his first wife.From the entry in the middle of
  • We have to maintain chain of custody.From the entry chain
  • "We have the perp in custody," the policeman said.From the entry perp
  • The sheriff's deputies took the suspect into custody.From the entry deputy
  • Many small businesses are forced into being cost-conscious, and their decisions around data custody may eventually translate to long-term setbacks.From the entry data custody
  • The court granted temporary custody to the mother, without prejudice as to the father's right to seek permanent custody at a later hearing.From the entry without prejudice
  • A suspect is in custody, according to a UVU alert sent to students.2025 September 10, Emma Pitts, Eva Terry, “Charlie Kirk shot at Utah event, suspect in custody”, in Deseret News. From the entry UVU
  • He should feel lucky I agreed to test out this bird-nesting custody arrangement this month.2017, Etta Faire, Feliz Navi-Dead: A Sketchy Matchmaker Mystery. From the entry bird-nesting
  • They were subsequently unarrested and released into their parents’ custody on Friday evening.2015, “Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said two teenage brothers arrested while trying to leave Australia to fight with ISIS were…. From the entry unarrest
  • That would be a way more acrimonious custody battle than the one my parents had over me.2010, Jeph Jacques, “Number 1579: Visitation Rights”, in Questionable Content, archived from the original on 05 Jul 2017. From the entry acrimonious
  • As earlier stated, remand in custody under the new Code is an exceptional measure.2007, Andrew Ewang Sone, Readings in the Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code, page 139. From the entry remand
  • Finally, there is the group of jinniyyas who travel freely without any form of custody.2007, Richard van Leeuwen, The Thousand and One Nights: Space, Travel and Transformation (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures…. From the entry jinniyya
  • Nero Wolfe: You know, of course, that Orrie Cather is in custody.2002 April 14, Sharon Elizabeth Doyle et al., “Death of a Doxy”, in Nero Wolfe. From the entry Strephon
  • The right of an accidental manslayer to flee to the protective custody of a city of refuge.2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 763. From the entry manslayer
  • Where appropriate, victims were informed that their traumatizers were no longer in custody.1997, Richard Victor Ericson, Policing the risk society, page 252. From the entry traumatizer
  • It remained in the custody of Mr Svlad, or "Dirk", Gently, né Cjelli.1987, Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, William Heinemann Ltd, page 23. From the entry né
  • Unfortunately for Takauji's hopes of easy consolidation of power, Godaigo once again escaped custody.1981, James H. Sanford, “Ikkyū Sōjun: His Life and Times”, in Zen-man Ikkyū (Studies in World Religions; 2), Chico, Calif.: Scholars…. From the entry shogunally
  • Some women in our group have gone through or are now facing custody battles.1980 April 12, Gia Berkman, “The Right to Be a Parent”, in Gay Community News, page 12. From the entry unrealized
  • "Custody or upbringing" is regarded as including access; yet in B. v.1969, The Law Commission, Family Law: Report on Financial Provision in Matrimonial Proceedings (Law Com. No. 25), London: Her Majesty's…. From the entry j
  • Anne Arundel County police later said one of the two men was “already in custody” at the time.2026 February 17, Aaron Blake, “The many claims by Trump’s DHS that have fallen apart”, in CNN, archived from the original on 18 Feb 2026. From the entry Anne Arundel County
  • For younger children, it can be a consequence of custody arrangements that leave the children with the mother.2025 September 12, Molly Gorman, “'Was it all smoke and mirrors?': How adult children are affected by grey divorce”, in BBC. From the entry matrifocal
  • Regulatory and security concerns punctuate the growing need for traders to maintain custody of their assets and comply with regulators.2024 April 10, Alex Wearn, “CEXs vs. DEXs: The Future Battle Lines”, in CoinDesk. From the entry CEX
  • We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident.2023 July 18, “US national crosses into North Korea during border tour”, in France 24, sourced from United Nations Command 유엔군사령부/유엔사…. From the entry Military Demarcation Line
  • His abandonment left me in Aunt Fara's custody, and that's honestly the best thing he's ever done for me."2015, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain, volume 3, page 237. From the entry cold
  • They have to take you into custody."2015, Kelly Ray Knight, Addicted. Pregnant. Poor.. From the entry no-bail
  • As Angel suspected, May chewed nails and spit fire when the sheriff released her into her stepmother's custody.2015, Lorraine Kennedy, Dark Rider: A Western Native American Romance, page 8. From the entry spit fire
  • Mama had a time tryin' to have him released in her custody, because of his severe medical condition.2014, Bernadine C. Taylor, Keeping the Faith, page 200. From the entry have a time
  • Each Sande group is led by one or more Soweisia who have custody of the sande 'medicine' and the sowei masks.2013, Frances Harding, The Performance Arts in Africa: A Reader, →ISBN, page 140. From the entry sowei
  • The spike had to be removed by the use of crowbars and other tools which were in the track foreman's custody.1941, Harry Edwin Jones, Inquiry of the Attorney General's Committee on Administrative Procedure Relating to the National Railroad…. From the entry unspike
  • Another sailor was taken into custody.2025 June 13, Rosa Flores, “Missing Navy sailor found dead in Virginia, another sailor in custody”, in CNN, archived from the original on…. From the entry sailor

Meaning of custody

  1. noun The legal right to take care of something or somebody, especially children.
  2. noun Temporary possession or care of somebody else's property.
  3. noun The state of being imprisoned or detained, usually pending a trial.

Full definition of custody

Questions about custody in a sentence

How do you use custody in a sentence?
Custody is used as a noun. For example: “The court awarded custody to the child's father.”
What is a short sentence with custody?
“Another sailor was taken into custody.”
What does custody mean?
Custody means the legal right to take care of something or somebody, especially children.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: custody (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use custody in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/custody. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.