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 The amendment, enforced by the Volstead Act, was repealed by another amendment to the Constitution in 1933.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

The prohibition lasts until 12 months after that contract has been finalized.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

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

New York's state constitution has its own prohibition on double jeopardy, which, if invoked here, could have a knock-on effect on Mangione's upcoming state trial.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Ali Vaez, the Iran project director of the Crisis Group, a conflict-resolution organization, said the prohibition on warships is at the heart of Tehran’s demands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

She remembered now that the pill prohibition had seemed unimportant at the time.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

"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

Larrie—who used to be CEO and is now co-chairman of the company board—was inspired by watching his father, John Evans, keep the business afloat during Prohibition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

It was the close of an era and the beginning of a brand-new one—and this updated force would be tasked with upholding a whole new federally dictated way of life called Prohibition.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

"The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our policy. The delegation is smaller than last year."

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The tariff changes will take effect Sept. 15, while the trade prohibitions are set to kick in on Sept. 29.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

He said that Canada was also maintaining its "prolonged retaliation" against the United States, including prohibitions on certain American goods and services.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

They really are totally uncontroversial, and both clauses were seen as, like, these original anti-corruption, anti-grifting prohibitions, and were largely just observed.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 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