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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

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 The amendment, enforced by the Volstead Act, was repealed by another amendment to the Constitution in 1933.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

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

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

There is no rule in sports more sacred than the prohibition against betting on your own team.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Again, I’m not a puritan calling for prohibition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

"While this doesn't rise quite to the level of a complete prohibition, it's a very strong disincentive."

From Barron's • May 30, 2026

He can apply for the prohibition order to be set aside but not until 2029 and he has a right of appeal at the High Court.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

Malcolm supposed the prohibition against touching another person’s dæmon was true for babies as well; in any case, he would never have dreamed, after those few minutes, of doing anything to upset that little child.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

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