prevention

American  

[pri-ven-shuhn] / prɪˈvɛn ʃən /

noun

• preventions
  plural

1. the act of preventing; effectual hindrance.

2. a preventive.

   This serum is a prevention against disease.

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prevention British  

/ prɪˈvɛnʃən /

noun

1. the act of preventing

2. a hindrance, obstacle, or impediment

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonprevention
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• preventions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of prevention

1520–30; < Late Latin praeventiōn- (stem of praeventiō ) a forestalling. See prevent, -ion

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prevention preventions

The company is boosting testing of its irrigation water and crops in central Mexico, and investing in research and technology to improve cyclospora detection and prevention, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Today, Americans are living and working longer, and yet prevention hasn’t caught up.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

The government said its existing suicide prevention and self harm, mental health and cancer strategies are already working to tackle some of the challenges facing men.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The researchers say these differences underscore the need to investigate cardiovascular prevention strategies that account for both sex and stage of life.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 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

"There were these pressure alarm mats, but as soon as you stood on them, they would slip from underneath your feet – they were used as preventions, but were actually causing the falls."

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2025

U.S. taxpayers invested billions of dollars in the effort and were able, until recently, to access treatments and preventions for the virus without paying out-of-pocket for them.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2023

"Epidemic preventions have been lifted...COVID-19 testing sites are mostly being dismantled... So, because right now in Chaoyang district cases are quite high, it is better to stock up on some medicines," he said.

From Reuters ● Dec. 7, 2022

DuckDuckGo CEO Gabe Weinberg said at the time that the reason for it was a search syndication agreement with Microsoft, and that more updates on third-party tracker preventions were coming.

From The Verge ● Aug. 5, 2022

I needed great things, perhaps, but I needed them expressed in little ways; and I needed little cares, little attentions, little thoughtfulnesses, little preventions, little, little, absurd kindnesses, tendernesses, recognitions, forgivenesses.

From A Spirit in Prison by Robert Smythe Hichens

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Related Words

• avoidance

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