ban
1 Americanverb (used with object)
noun
-
the act of prohibiting by law; interdiction.
- Synonyms:
- taboo, interdict, proscription, prohibition
-
informal denunciation or prohibition, as by public opinion.
society's ban on racial discrimination.
- Synonyms:
- taboo
-
Law.
-
a proclamation.
-
a public condemnation.
-
-
Ecclesiastical. a formal condemnation; excommunication.
-
a malediction; curse.
noun
-
a public proclamation or edict.
-
Ecclesiastical. bans, banns.
-
(in the feudal system)
-
the summoning of the sovereign's vassals for military service.
-
the body of vassals summoned.
-
noun
-
(formerly) the governor of Croatia and Slavonia.
-
History/Historical. a provincial governor of the southern marches of Hungary.
noun
verb
-
(tr) to prohibit, esp officially, from action, display, entrance, sale, etc; forbid
to ban a book
to ban smoking
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(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
-
archaic to curse
noun
-
an official prohibition or interdiction
-
law an official proclamation or public notice, esp of prohibition
-
a public proclamation or edict, esp of outlawry
-
archaic public censure or condemnation
-
archaic a curse; imprecation
noun
noun
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bansimple
-
banssimple
-
have bannedperfect
-
has bannedperfect
-
am banningprogressive
-
are banningprogressive
-
is banningprogressive
-
have been banningperfect progressive
-
has been banningperfect progressive
Past
-
bannedsimple
-
had bannedperfect
-
was banningprogressive
-
were banningprogressive
-
had been banningperfect progressive
Future
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; see 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”; see origin at ban 3
Explanation
The verb to ban means to forbid something from being or happening. The word can also be used as a noun. A school board might put a ban on all books that refer to Jefferson's mistress if they don't want anyone reading about her. If your parents are upset by how much time you spend online, they might ban computers in the house. But if you're smart, you can just use your phone or laptop at school. To ban something is to put a ban on it. Something with a ban on it is said to be banned. A ban can vary from your grandmother's ban on people wearing shoes in her house to a government's ban on printing certain stories in the newspaper.
Vocabulary lists containing ban
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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"The Civil Rights Movement"
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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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.
See Examples For:
Eel management plans were implemented at fisheries across Europe from 2009, followed by an export ban, to try to support recovery of the species.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
None of these arguments indicate that a ban on vote-betting is necessarily required by those states that ban vote-buying.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Now we’re told artificial intelligence will ravage humanity like a zombie apocalypse, so let’s ban data centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The ban sent mining firms scrambling to build plants to process lithium sulfate, a step along the value chain towards battery‑grade materials.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
In his view, “the ban on gruesome fairy tales, terrifying nursemaids and other standard sources of horror, has left most of the population” vulnerable to scary stories and situations.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
By then—that would have been 1995—the Shorawi were defeated and long gone and Kabul belonged to Massoud, Rab- bani, and the Mujahedin.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
He was of the Dārim, one of the most respected divisions of the bani Tamīm, and his mother was of the tribe of Ḍabba.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various
Our present copy is a tablet from the library of a later king, seemingly Ashur bani apal.
From Assyrian Historiography by Olmstead, A. T. (Albert Ten Eyck)
Particularly is this the case with the inscriptions of Sennacherib and Ashur bani apal.
From Assyrian Historiography by Olmstead, A. T. (Albert Ten Eyck)
In the true Bedouin spirit he devoted his talent largely to satire and attacked the bani Nahshal and the bani Fuqaim.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various
He would then display the bodies in lifelike poses, revealing their muscles, skeletons and internal organs in exhibitions that drew millions worldwide but also occasionally faced calls for bans.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Virginia which struck down the bans on interracial marriages in 16 states.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Seven water companies have implemented or announced future hosepipe bans to reduce the strain on treatment works and storage during peak demand.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
The administration announced levies of 10% for countries that have bans on forced labor and 12.5% on those that have failed to adopt such prohibitions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
In September, with my bans ended, I decided to take advantage of my freedom and get a respite from the city.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
This past spring, swimming was banned three times at Huntington Beach due to sharks deemed to be aggressive.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
In December, the Federal Communications Commission banned the use of new foreign-made drones in the U.S.—a move aimed largely at Chinese firms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The sport reached a peak of popularity in the 19th Century, but went underground after it was banned in the UK in 2005.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
The use of garden hoses has been temporarily banned because of drought.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
In 1836, near the end of Jackson’s second term, Congress adopted a gag rule that banned any discussion of petitions or legislation related to slavery.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
She cited the provision banning slavery and involuntary servitude.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
"The whole thing around Aughinish doesn't match, we need to be banning those exports," she told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Various groups have been expanding in the Bay Area and beyond, some focused more heavily on job displacement and others pushing for actions such as quitting OpenAI’s ChatGPT and banning new AI technology development.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Despite Australia banning under-16s from social media in December, it is widely acknowledged that many continue to use the platforms.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
They agreed to the Limited Test Ban Treaty, the first nuclear arms control agreement, banning nuclear tests everywhere but underground.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
