ban

¹ American  

[ban] / bæn /

verb (used with object)

banned, banning

1. to prohibit, forbid, or bar; interdict.

   to ban nuclear weapons;

   The dictator banned all newspapers and books that criticized his regime.

   Synonyms:

   taboo, proscribe, outlaw

   Antonyms:

   allow

2. Archaic.

   1. to pronounce an ecclesiastical curse upon.

   2. to curse; execrate.

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noun

1. the act of prohibiting by law; interdiction.

   Synonyms:

   taboo, interdict, proscription, prohibition

2. informal denunciation or prohibition, as by public opinion.

   society's ban on racial discrimination.

   Synonyms:

   taboo

3. Law.

   1. a proclamation.

   2. a public condemnation.

4. Ecclesiastical. a formal condemnation; excommunication.

5. a malediction; curse.

ban ² American  

[ban] / bæn /

noun

1. a public proclamation or edict.

2. Ecclesiastical. bans, banns.

3. (in the feudal system)

   1. the summoning of the sovereign's vassals for military service.

   2. the body of vassals summoned.

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ban ³ American  

[ban, bahn] / bæn, bɑn /

noun

1. (formerly) the governor of Croatia and Slavonia.

2. History/Historical. a provincial governor of the southern marches of Hungary.

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ban ⁴ American  

[bahn] / bɑn /

noun

plural

bani

1. a Romanian coin, one 100th of a leu.

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ban ¹ British  

/ bæn /

verb

1. (tr) to prohibit, esp officially, from action, display, entrance, sale, etc; forbid

   to ban a book

   to ban smoking

2. (tr) (formerly in South Africa) to place (a person suspected of illegal political activity) under a government order restricting his movement and his contact with other people

3. archaic to curse

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noun

1. an official prohibition or interdiction

2. law an official proclamation or public notice, esp of prohibition

3. a public proclamation or edict, esp of outlawry

4. archaic public censure or condemnation

5. archaic a curse; imprecation

ban ² British  

/ bæn /

noun

1. (in feudal England) the summoning of vassals to perform their military obligations

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ban ³ British  

/ bæn /

noun

1. a monetary unit of Romania and Moldova worth one hundredth of a leu

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Usage

What does ban mean? To ban is to forbid or prohibit something or someone, as in Fatima banned her children from using screens after 9 pm so they wouldn’ stay up all night playing video games.A ban is a law or rule that prohibits, or bans, something, as in The winter parking ban starts on December 1.A ban can also be an informal prohibition, such as by public opinion.Example: We had to ban the use of power tools for school projects after an unfortunate incident in shop class.

Other Word Forms

• bannable adjective
• unbanned adjective

Etymology

Origin of ban¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English bannen, Old English bannan “to summon, proclaim”; cognate with Old Norse banna to curse (probably influencing some senses of Middle English word), Old High German bannan; akin to Latin fārī “to speak,” Sanskrit bhanati “(he) speaks”

Origin of ban²

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, ban, ban(n)e, iban “a lord's proclamation or edict or summons,” Old English (ge)ban(n) “proclamation, ordinance, summons to arms” (derivative of bannan ); influenced in some senses by Old French ban (Anglicized as ban ), from the same Germanic source; ban ¹

Origin of ban³

First recorded in 1605–15; from Serbo-Croatian bân, contracted from unattested bojan, bajan, said to be from a Turkic personal name, perhaps introduced into the Balkans by the Avars; compare Medieval Greek bo(e)ános “governor”

Origin of ban⁴

First recorded in 1960–65; from Romanian, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Serbo-Croatian bân “provincial governor”; ban ³

Example Sentences

On Tuesday, China announced a broad ban on the export to Japan of so-called dual-use goods with potential military applications.

From The Wall Street Journal

Despite restrictions on foreign students that include a full or partial travel ban on 39 nations and increased vetting, the overall UC international student enrollment remained relatively stable.

From Los Angeles Times

California’s gray whales have been considered an environmental success story since the passage of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act and 1986’s global ban on commercial whaling.

From Los Angeles Times

This the state cannot do; for most of American history, states banned concealed carry but permitted open carry.

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, it’s not clear if the housing-purchase ban would need congressional approval or how it would work.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bar
• exclude
• halt
• outlaw
• prevent
• prohibit
• proscribe
• restrict
• suppress