embargo
Americannoun
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any restriction imposed upon commerce by edict, especially against a certain country as a penalty or to induce compliance with demands or legal obligations.
The United Nations fact-finding mission recommended the imposition of an arms embargo and other targeted economic sanctions on the rogue state.
The software may not be exported into any country with which the United States maintains a trade embargo prohibiting the shipment of goods.
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an order of a government prohibiting the movement of merchant ships into or out of its ports.
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an injunction from a government commerce agency to refuse freight for shipment, as in case of congestion or insufficient facilities.
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a restraint or hindrance; prohibition.
A one-year embargo on her published dissertation allowed only the title, abstract, and citation information to be released to the public.
- Synonyms:
- proscription, interdiction, restriction, ban
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a government order prohibiting the departure or arrival of merchant ships in its ports
-
any legal stoppage of commerce
an embargo on arms shipments
-
a restraint, hindrance, or prohibition
verb
-
to lay an embargo upon
-
to seize for use by the state
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has embargoedperfect 3rd person singular
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have embargoedperfect
-
have been embargoingperfect progressive
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am embargoingprogressive 1st person singular
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embargoessingular 3rd person
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are embargoingprogressive
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has been embargoingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
embargoingparticiple
-
is embargoingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had embargoedperfect
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embargoedparticiple
-
embargoedsimple
-
had been embargoingperfect progressive
-
was embargoingprogressive singular
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were embargoingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of embargo
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Spanish, derivative of embargar “to hinder, embarrass,” from unattested Vulgar Latin imbarricāre, equivalent to im- im- 1 + unattested -barricāre ( barr(a) bar 1 + -icāre causative suffix)
Explanation
An embargo is an order stopping the movement of trade ships into or out of a country. If you can’t get those yummy Swedish fish, perhaps there has been an embargo on trade with Sweden! The fact that ships cannot move during an embargo makes sense from the Latin root of the word, a verb meaning impede with barriers. If one government places a trade embargo on another, it can be an act of war between the two countries. But if an arms embargo is in place, many countries refuse to sell arms to a particular country because it is especially violent. As a verb, the use of embargo is a little broader. If you write an impassioned plea for peace, but the government embargoes it, no one will read your writing.
Vocabulary lists containing embargo
Southeast Asia - Introductory
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Central America and the Caribbean - Introductory
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Southeast Asia - Middle School
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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.
Small stocks’ performance was also outsize following the 1929 crash and the 1973-1974 Arab Oil Embargo using a different small-cap index.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
In June 2022, the Council of the European Union listed the Russian financial institution, which wasn’t explicitly named in the prosecutor’s statement, in the so-called Russia Embargo Order.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2023
"At present, the focus is primarily on the areas of international criminal law and the Embargo Act," it said in a statement, referring to Switzerland's sanctions law.
From Reuters • Mar. 22, 2022
Enraged, the oil-rich states — led by Saudi Arabia — cut off the supply of oil to America in what is now known as the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973-1974.
From Salon • Aug. 15, 2021
But I can’t say that gratitude was my motive for infringing on the Law of Cultural Embargo.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
