contraband
Americannoun
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anything prohibited by law from being imported or exported.
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goods imported or exported illegally.
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illegal or prohibited trade; smuggling.
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International Law. contraband of war.
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(during the American Civil War) an enslaved Black person who escaped to or was brought within the Union lines.
adjective
noun
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goods that are prohibited by law from being exported or imported
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illegally imported or exported goods
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illegal traffic in such goods; smuggling
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Also called: contraband of war. international law goods that a neutral country may not supply to a belligerent
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(during the American Civil War) a Black slave captured by the Union forces or one who escaped to the Union lines
adjective
Other Word Forms
- contrabandist noun
- noncontraband noun
Etymology
Origin of contraband
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
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.
According to the ICE website, the HSI investigates global threats, investigating the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of, and through the United States.
From Barron's
Just ask Ernie, the canine star of an article about dogs trained to sniff out prison contraband.
Ransone's character was also the cousin of Nick Sabotka, Frank's nephew, who becomes increasingly involved with the criminals who want to smuggle contraband through the docks.
From BBC
An Italian man got caught trying to smuggle into Switzerland some tasty contraband, including 66 panettones.
From MarketWatch
It was blowing east into Belarus the night we were out with the patrol and the only boxes the soldiers found in a car were full of Christmas shopping not contraband.
From BBC
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.
