contraband

[ kon-truh-band ]
See synonyms for contraband on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. anything prohibited by law from being imported or exported.

  2. goods imported or exported illegally.

  1. illegal or prohibited trade; smuggling.

  2. International Law. contraband of war.

  3. (during the American Civil War) an enslaved Black person who escaped to or was brought within the Union lines.

adjective
  1. prohibited from export or import.

Origin of contraband

1
First recorded in1520–30; earlier contrabanda, from Spanish, from Italian contrabando (now contrabbando ), equivalent to contra “against” + Medieval Latin bandum, variant of bannum “edict”; see origin at contra1, ban2

Other words from contraband

  • non·con·tra·band, noun, adjective

Words Nearby contraband

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How to use contraband in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for contraband

contraband

/ (ˈkɒntrəˌbænd) /


noun
    • goods that are prohibited by law from being exported or imported

    • illegally imported or exported goods

  1. illegal traffic in such goods; smuggling

  1. Also called: contraband of war international law goods that a neutral country may not supply to a belligerent

  2. (during the American Civil War) a Black slave captured by the Union forces or one who escaped to the Union lines

adjective
  1. (of goods)

    • forbidden by law from being imported or exported

    • illegally imported or exported

Origin of contraband

1
C16: from Spanish contrabanda, from Italian contrabando (modern contrabbando), from Medieval Latin contrabannum, from contra- + bannum ban, of Germanic origin

Derived forms of contraband

  • contrabandist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for contraband

contraband

Goods illegally transported across borders to avoid the payment of taxes.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.