embargo

American  

[em-bahr-goh] / ɛmˈbɑr goʊ /

noun

plural

embargoes

1. any restriction imposed upon commerce by edict, especially against a certain country as a penalty or to induce compliance with demands or legal obligations.

   The United Nations fact-finding mission recommended the imposition of an arms embargo and other targeted economic sanctions on the rogue state.

   The software may not be exported into any country with which the United States maintains a trade embargo prohibiting the shipment of goods.

2. an order of a government prohibiting the movement of merchant ships into or out of its ports.

3. an injunction from a government commerce agency to refuse freight for shipment, as in case of congestion or insufficient facilities.

4. a restraint or hindrance; prohibition.

   A one-year embargo on her published dissertation allowed only the title, abstract, and citation information to be released to the public.

   Synonyms:

   proscription, interdiction, restriction, ban

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verb (used with object)

embargoed, embargoing

1. to impose an embargo on.

embargo British  

/ ɛmˈbɑːɡəʊ /

noun

1. a government order prohibiting the departure or arrival of merchant ships in its ports

2. any legal stoppage of commerce

   an embargo on arms shipments

3. a restraint, hindrance, or prohibition

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verb

1. to lay an embargo upon

2. to seize for use by the state

embargo Cultural  

1. A governmental restriction on trade for political purposes. The objective is to put pressure on other governments by prohibiting exports to or imports from those countries.

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Other Word Forms

• preembargo adjective

Etymology

Origin of embargo

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Spanish, derivative of embargar “to hinder, embarrass,” from unattested Vulgar Latin imbarricāre, equivalent to im- im- ¹ + unattested -barricāre ( barr(a) bar ¹ + -icāre causative suffix)

Example Sentences

The mother of all shocks—the oil embargo by Arab producers in response to Nixon’s support for Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War—has no comparison, said Rystad Energy analyst Jorge León.

From The Wall Street Journal

When America froze Japanese assets in July 1941, it was effectively an oil embargo, and the dominoes began falling.

From The Wall Street Journal

The island, under a US trade embargo since 1962, has for years been mired in a severe crisis marked by extended power cuts and shortages of fuel, medicine and food.

From Barron's

Federal officials could tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, created after the 1970s oil embargo.

From Barron's

The US Treasury has since eased a seven-year-old oil embargo on Venezuela and issued licenses allowing a handful of multinationals to operate in the country under certain conditions.

From Barron's

Related Words

• ban
• restraint