- keeping; guardianship; care.
- the keeping or charge of officers of the law: The car was held in the custody of the police.
- imprisonment; legal restraint: He was taken into custody.
- the right of determining the residence, protection, care, and education of a minor child or children, especially in a divorce or separation.
- the act of keeping safe or guarding, esp the right of guardianship of a minor
- the state of being held by the police; arrest (esp in the phrases in custody, take into custody)
