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Definition of "prohibition" []

  • The act of prohibiting or the condition of being prohibited. (noun)
  • A law, order, or decree that forbids something. (noun)
  • The forbidding by law of the manufacture, transportation, sale, and possession of alcoholic beverages. (noun)
  • The period (1920-1933) during which the 18th Amendment forbidding the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages was in force in the United States. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "prohibition" in a sentence
  • "Wonder how long the Mexican drug gangs would last if we didn't buy the stuff or if we realized this latest experiment in prohibition is no more successful than the first one."
  • "I would say that the latest experiment in prohibition is proceding just like the last one, only on a larger scale."
  • "I've tried to relieve some fear about legalization so that you might understand more clearly how futile and destructive marijuana prohibition is and why it should be ended."