cordon sanitaire
Americannoun
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a line around a quarantined area guarded to prevent the spread of a disease by restricting passage into or out of the area.
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a group of neighboring, generally neutral states forming a geographical barrier between two states having aggressive military or ideological aims against each other.
noun
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a guarded line serving to cut off an infected area
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a line of buffer states, esp when protecting a nation from infiltration or attack
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cordon sanitaire
From French, dating back to 1840–50; see origin at cordon, sanitary
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.
That’s why counties like Los Angeles have kept up vigilant monitoring and fly-murdering programs, sometimes with new tools, to protect the state’s agricultural cordon sanitaire from Napa and Sonoma to the Mexican border.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024
"Most of the uses of cordon sanitaire like this were in the pre-epidemiological era. The only data we have is the WHO China report."
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2020
If Harper Lee wants a cordon sanitaire around her, let it be.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 19, 2016
They need to be warned that this “friend” has the potential to make their lives very miserable and they may need to put her outside a cordon sanitaire.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2014
A proposal by President Carranza to draw a cordon sanitaire round the place has not yet reached Washington.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. CLVIII, January 7, 1920 by Various
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.
