contraception
Americannoun
-
the deliberate prevention of conception or impregnation by any of various drugs, techniques, or devices; birth control.
Patients in this study must agree to practice contraception for the duration of their participation.
-
a drug, technique, or device used to deliberately prevent conception or impregnation.
You can also request free contraception by undergoing a simple, secure online consultation.
Hormonal contraception, like any other medication, can interact with other drugs being taken.
noun
Etymology
Origin of contraception
First recorded in 1885–90; contra- 1 ( def. ) + (con)ception
Explanation
Contraception is birth control, to put it bluntly; the general term for the use of a number of devices or acts that prevent impregnation during intercourse. The word is formed by mashing together the Latin word contra, meaning "against" and a shortened form of the old French word concepcion, meaning "conception" — in other words: "against conception." Like so many scientific terms it was first coined in the nineteenth century, when the science of birth control was beginning to be seriously considered. Contraceptives — birth control devices — that had been around in cruder forms, began to be mass-produced and eventually socially accepted.
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.
The ecstasies of attraction are sublimated into their long conversations about Boethius and Hildegard von Bingen, or about the suddenly debatable issues of contraception and clerical celibacy.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
The reader is routinely encouraged to avoid hormonal contraception in favor of tracking fertility.
From Salon • May 8, 2026
The FDA approved the pill for contraception in 1960, although women had access to it for years through a regulatory workaround.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Another said contraception "sucks" before a different user shared their hatred towards the pill, saying it made them depressed.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
And because today superstition keeps the priceless knowledge of contraception from the vast majority of women, these crude, savage methods still prevail, and we have our million abortions a year in the United States.
From The Book of Life by Sinclair, Upton
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.
