contraband

[kon-truh-band]

noun

1. anything prohibited by law from being imported or exported.

2. goods imported or exported illegally.

3. illegal or prohibited trade; smuggling.

4. International Law.,  contraband of war.

5. (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.

contraband

/ ˈkɒntrəˌbænd /

noun

1. 1. goods that are prohibited by law from being exported or imported

   2. illegally imported or exported goods

2. illegal traffic in such goods; smuggling

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

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

adjective

1. 1. forbidden by law from being imported or exported

   2. illegally imported or exported

contraband

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

Other Word Forms

• contrabandist noun
• noncontraband noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of contraband¹

First recorded in 1520–30; earlier contrabanda, from Spanish, from Italian contrabando (now contrabbando ), equivalent to contra “against” + Medieval Latin bandum, variant of bannum “edict”; contra ¹ ( def. ), ban ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of contraband¹

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

Example Sentences

He has been caught with contraband phones eight times in the last eight years, the document said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He added: "Our services' aim is to seize the largest possible quantities of contraband and to detain organisers and perpetrators so that this activity is unprofitable and does not pose a risk to civil aviation."

Read more on BBC

A former detective constable and three people have been convicted of smuggling contraband into prisons using drones.

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He told her about a jailer who had offered to bring him a contraband cellphone for the right price, and she orchestrated a sting in summer 2011.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It looks more like contraband than cooking, which is fitting enough.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• bootleg 
• illicit 
• prohibited 
• smuggled www.thesaurus.com
• unauthorized