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• prohibition
  prohibition

  noun

  the act of prohibiting.
• Prohibition
  Prohibition

  noun

  the period (1920–33) when the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was banned by constitutional amendment in the US

prohibition

American  

[proh-uh-bish-uhn] / ˌproʊ əˈbɪʃ ən /

noun

• prohibitions
  plural

1. the act of prohibiting.

2. the legal prohibiting of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic drinks for common consumption.

3. Often Prohibition the period (1920–33) when the Eighteenth Amendment was in force and alcoholic beverages could not legally be manufactured, transported, or sold in the United States.

4. a law or decree that forbids.

   Synonyms:

   interdiction

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prohibition ¹ British  

/ ˌprəʊɪˈbɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of prohibiting or state of being prohibited

2. an order or decree that prohibits

3. (sometimes capital) (esp in the US) a policy of legally forbidding the manufacture, transportation, sale, or consumption of alcoholic beverages except for medicinal or scientific purposes

4. law an order of a superior court (in Britain the High Court) forbidding an inferior court to determine a matter outside its jurisdiction

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Prohibition ² British  

/ ˌprəʊɪˈbɪʃən /

noun

1. the period (1920–33) when the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was banned by constitutional amendment in the US

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Prohibition Cultural  

1. The outlawing of alcoholic beverages nationwide from 1920 to 1933, under an amendment to the Constitution. The amendment, enforced by the Volstead Act, was repealed by another amendment to the Constitution in 1933.

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Usage

When was Prohibition? Prohibition refers to a period in American history when the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages was made illegal. The law, which was created by the Eighteenth Amendment (ratified in 1918) to the United States Constitution and subsequently reversed by the Twenty-first Amendment (ratified in 1933), proved largely unpopular.

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Prohibition is often mentioned in discussions of how much social change can be brought about through law, because alcohol was widely, though illegally, produced and sold during Prohibition; it was served privately in the White House under President Warren Harding, for example.

Many use the example of Prohibition to argue that more harm than good comes from the enactment of laws that are sure to be widely disobeyed.

Some states and localities (called “dry”) had outlawed the production and sale of alcohol before the Prohibition amendment was adopted. The repealing amendment allowed individual states and localities to remain “dry,” and some did for many years.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Prohibitionist
  noun
• nonprohibition
  noun
• preprohibition
  noun
• antiprohibition
  adjective
• prohibitionary
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• prohibitions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prohibition

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin prohibitiōn-, stem of prohibitiō “prevention”; equivalent to prohibit + -ion

Explanation

Prohibition is the act of forbidding or outlawing something, like when my mom placed a prohibition on watching TV during dinner (causing everyone to skip dinner). Prohibition can also refer to one of the most famous acts of prohibition in United States history: the outlawing of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933. During this period, known as the "Prohibition Era" or just "Prohibition" for short, people continued to obtain alcohol via illegal means. As a result, the Prohibition Era is a perfect illustration of a major challenge associated with most acts of prohibition: enforcement.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prohibition Prohibition prohibitions

These tariffs were set at 12.5% for countries without any formal prohibition on forced labor imports, and 10% for all other countries with such a prohibition.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

The medical association pointed to the success of Australia’s nationwide prohibition of artificial stone containing more than 1% crystalline silica.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Byrd and Roberts can still ask the First District Court of Appeal to review the denial of their Stand Your Ground motion before trial, through a petition for a writ of prohibition.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

There is no prohibition on commercial ships attempting to use them.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

He had confided in Neeley that he, McGarrity, was a man who had his ear to the ground and was therefore in a position to hear prohibition coming.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

During Prohibition in America, the different racial groups mixed freely at speakeasies in Harlem, N.Y., where, the author writes, a night out “was like being part of the resistance.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

"The charges represent a significant milestone in the enforcement of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2024", Sierra Leone's Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay told the BBC.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

The novel follows Mary Hatcher, a Pomo Indian in Sonoma County, from Prohibition through the 21st century.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

It appears the nearly 80-year-old president confused the infamous Prohibition agent with Kevin Costner’s portrayal of Ness in the 1987 film “The Untouchables.”

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

She was not one of the reformers who had campaigned for Prohibition, but she believed in the rule of law, and the rise of the gangsters appalled her.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Unyoked from racial prejudices and prohibitions, Eston’s progeny prospered.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

Last week, several rights groups released a joint statement to urge the government to repeal legislation that makes such prohibitions as last year's Pride ban possible.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

This action makes Vermont the third state, after Oregon and California, to strengthen prohibitions on the corporate practice of medicine since the start of last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

This is the power of public prohibitions of unhealthy behavior.

From Slate ● May 15, 2026

Foreign practice The legislation of France and Germany and other countries seems to provide against importation inferentially rather than specifically, Russia and Peru being exceptional in their specific prohibitions.

From Copyright: Its History and Its Law by Richard Rogers Bowker

Related Words

• constraint
• embargo
• exclusion
• injunction
• prevention
• proscription
• restriction
• taboo
• veto