prohibition

prohibition — noun

1. a rule, law, or official order that says a particular action or activity is not

1.nounB2
Definition

a rule, law, or official order that says a particular action or activity is not allowed; also the act of forbidding something through legal or official authority.

Example

The city council introduced a prohibition on late-night construction work near hospitals.

prohibition on + noun phrase

Many residents supported the prohibition of single-use plastic bags in local shops.

Common collocations
  • impose a prohibition
  • lift a prohibition
  • introduce a prohibition
  • strict prohibition
  • temporary prohibition
  • government prohibition
  • blanket prohibition
Synonyms
  • ban

    shorter and more common in everyday language; 'ban' feels less formal than 'prohibition'

  • embargo

    specifically a government order that restricts trade with another country

  • interdict

    formal, often used in legal or church contexts; less common in general speech

  • moratorium

    a temporary stop, often agreed upon rather than imposed by law

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

prohibition + on + noun/gerund

prohibition + of + noun

prohibition + against + noun/gerund

Usage Note

Frequently used with the prepositions on, of, or against: 'prohibition on smoking', 'prohibition of alcohol', 'prohibition against discrimination'. Can be either countable (a specific rule) or uncountable (the general act of forbidding). The verb form is prohibit, which is more common in everyday speech.

Common Mistakes

The government made a prohibition on fireworks.
The government imposed a prohibition on fireworks.
'prohibition' collocates with 'impose', 'introduce', or 'issue', not 'make'.
There is a prohibition to smoke here.
There is a prohibition on smoking here.
The noun 'prohibition' takes the prepositions 'on', 'against', or 'of', not 'to'.

2. a period of about thirteen years starting in 1920, during which United States la

2.nounB2
Definition

a period of about thirteen years starting in 1920, during which United States law made it illegal to produce, transport, or sell alcoholic drinks.

Example

During Prohibition, secret bars called speakeasies operated in basements all across New York.

capitalized: Prohibition as a named historical period

Samir read a novel about bootleggers who smuggled whiskey across the Canadian border during Prohibition.

Common collocations
  • during Prohibition
  • the Prohibition era
  • Prohibition ended
  • Prohibition began
  • the end of Prohibition
  • Prohibition-era crime
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

during + Prohibition

the + Prohibition + era

Usage Note

Often capitalized as Prohibition when referring specifically to the US historical period (1920–1933). Distinguish from sense 1: this sense refers to a specific historical era, not a general rule or ban. The Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution established it, and the Twenty-First Amendment repealed it.

Common Mistakes

During Prohibition, drinking alcohol was illegal.
During Prohibition, making and selling alcohol were illegal.
The laws banned production and sale, not personal drinking itself.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to forbidding something, but they differ in scope and formality. A 'ban' is the most general and widely used — almost any prohibition can be called a ban, from a school ban on phones to a government ban on a substance. An 'embargo' is more specific: a government order that blocks trade with a particular country, often for political reasons. 'Interdict' is a formal or legal term, sometimes used in church law, and is much less common in everyday English. A 'moratorium' is a temporary pause or suspension, often agreed upon voluntarily rather than ordered by law — for example, a moratorium on oil drilling while the environmental impact is studied. In everyday conversation, 'ban' is almost always the right choice; 'prohibition' sounds more official and legal.

ban ↗embargointerdictmoratorium

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • impose a prohibition
  • lift a prohibition
  • in violation of a prohibition

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Prohibition comes from Latin 'prohibitio', meaning a forbidding or hindering. The root is the verb 'prohibere' (to keep back, hold back, prevent), formed from 'pro-' (forward, away) and 'habere' (to hold). It entered English through Old French 'prohibition' in the 1300s. The sense of a specific ban on alcohol emerged in the early twentieth century and became permanently linked to the US 'Prohibition era' of 1920–1933.