restriction

American  

[ri-strik-shuhn] / rɪˈstrɪk ʃən /

noun

• restrictions
  plural

1. something that restricts; a restrictive condition or regulation; limitation.

   Synonyms:

   restraint, reservation, provision, rule

2. the act of restricting.

3. the state of being restricted.

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restriction British  

/ rɪˈstrɪkʃən /

noun

1. something that restricts; a restrictive measure, law, etc

2. the act of restricting or the state of being restricted

3. logic maths a condition that imposes a constraint on the possible values of a variable or on the domain of arguments of a function

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrestriction
  noun
• overrestriction
  noun
• prerestriction
  noun
• restrictionist
  noun
• self-restriction
  noun
• superrestriction
  noun
• prorestriction
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• restrictions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of restriction

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin restrictiōn-, stem of restrictiō; equivalent to restrict + -ion

Explanation

A restriction is a limitation or a restraint, like when a size restriction keeps you from jumping on a toddler trampoline and bouncing the smaller kids a mile up in the air. Usually a restriction is in place because a limit needs to be set. Common sense would keep you from putting a bowling ball in a paper bag; you wouldn’t need a restriction to tell you not to do it. Sometimes a restriction is the result of doing something bad or misusing a privilege, as when your parents put a restriction on video gaming to limit your time in front of the TV.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

restriction restrictions

The Chino Valley school board adopted the book restriction policy in October 2023.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Weight-loss advice often emphasizes calorie restriction and smaller portions.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

One restriction: A QCD cannot go to a donor-advised fund or a private foundation.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Convicted murderers and prisoners on orders for lifelong restriction would be excluded from the changes.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

If we continued to disappoint him, he warned us, we’d be put on restriction and forbidden to leave the Academy at night.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Last year, dozens of journalists surrendered Pentagon credentials rather than agree to new restrictions on their reporting.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

Provinces have shown reluctance to lift their own restrictions, but Ouellet said that overall "the Canadian market has been reinvigorated and there is more domestic trade."

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Zgraggen said during his trial that he did not understand the extent of Nyepi restrictions and did not mean to insult the Balinese.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

The company has had talks with administration officials about potential restrictions on Chinese open-weight model providers that are accused of unfairly using advances made by U.S. companies in a process called distillation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

The security restrictions also burdened Lawrence personally, and not merely because they added a new administrative concern to his expanding responsibilities.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• check
• condition
• constraint
• control
• curb
• limit
• regulation
• restraint
• rule
• stipulation
• stricture