prevention
Americannoun
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the act of preventing; effectual hindrance.
-
a preventive.
This serum is a prevention against disease.
noun
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the act of preventing
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a hindrance, obstacle, or impediment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of prevention
1520–30; < Late Latin praeventiōn- (stem of praeventiō ) a forestalling. See prevent, -ion
Explanation
When an action stops something from happening, like assigning extra teachers to watch a playground during recess to prevent bullying, it's called prevention. The noun prevention comes up most often when people are trying to keep something bad in check, like crime, disease, or forest fires. Educating kids about nutrition is one form of obesity prevention, for example, and lowering speed limits can help with accident prevention. The word prevent is at the root of prevention, and it comes from the Latin praeventus, "anticipate or hinder."
Vocabulary lists containing prevention
Word Generation Weekly - Series 2
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Chemical Engineering
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: pre-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The family’s companies have settled many accusations of environmental violations by agreeing to pay fines and invest in better pollution prevention without admitting or denying culpability.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
"It's been encouraging to see the survival rates for breast cancer improve over recent decades, and we'd love to see the same gains in prevention."
From Science Daily • Jun. 6, 2026
In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the agency had $500 million for forest management and fire prevention that was not directly tied to cap-and-invest or the bond — up from about $65 million two decades prior.
From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026
Bradshaw, who studies children’s mental health and bullying prevention, has been collecting data on 25,000 students.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
There is already talk of a breakthrough in the prevention and treatment of human disease.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
