ban

¹ American  

[ban] / bæn /

verb (used with object)

banned, banning

1. to prohibit, forbid, or bar; interdict.

   to ban nuclear weapons;

   The dictator banned all newspapers and books that criticized his regime.

   Synonyms:

   taboo , proscribe , outlaw

   Antonyms:

   allow

2. Archaic.

   1. to pronounce an ecclesiastical curse upon.

   2. to curse; execrate.

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noun

1. the act of prohibiting by law; interdiction.

   Synonyms:

   taboo , interdict , proscription , prohibition

2. informal denunciation or prohibition, as by public opinion.

   society's ban on racial discrimination.

   Synonyms:

   taboo

3. Law.

   1. a proclamation.

   2. a public condemnation.

4. Ecclesiastical.  a formal condemnation; excommunication.

5. a malediction; curse.

ban ² American  

[ban] / bæn /

noun

1. a public proclamation or edict.

2. Ecclesiastical.  bans, banns.

3. (in the feudal system)

   1. the summoning of the sovereign's vassals for military service.

   2. the body of vassals summoned.

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ban ³ American  

[ban, bahn] / bæn, bɑn /

noun

1. (formerly) the governor of Croatia and Slavonia.

2. History/Historical.  a provincial governor of the southern marches of Hungary.

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ban ⁴ American  

[bahn] / bɑn /

noun

PLURAL

bani

1. a Romanian coin, one 100th of a leu.

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ban ¹ British  

/ bæn /

verb

1. (tr) to prohibit, esp officially, from action, display, entrance, sale, etc; forbid

   to ban a book

   to ban smoking

2. (tr) (formerly in South Africa) to place (a person suspected of illegal political activity) under a government order restricting his movement and his contact with other people

3. archaic  to curse

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noun

1. an official prohibition or interdiction

2. law an official proclamation or public notice, esp of prohibition

3. a public proclamation or edict, esp of outlawry

4. archaic  public censure or condemnation

5. archaic  a curse; imprecation

ban ² British  

/ bæn /

noun

1. (in feudal England) the summoning of vassals to perform their military obligations

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ban ³ British  

/ bæn /

noun

1. a monetary unit of Romania and Moldova worth one hundredth of a leu

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Usage

What does ban mean? To ban is to forbid or prohibit something or someone, as in Fatima banned her children from using screens after 9 pm so they wouldn’ stay up all night playing video games.A ban is a law or rule that prohibits, or bans, something, as in The winter parking ban starts on December 1.A ban can also be an informal prohibition, such as by public opinion.Example: We had to ban the use of power tools for school projects after an unfortunate incident in shop class.

Other Word Forms

• bannable adjective
• unbanned adjective

Etymology

Origin of ban¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English bannen, Old English bannan “to summon, proclaim”; cognate with Old Norse banna to curse (probably influencing some senses of Middle English word), Old High German bannan; akin to Latin fārī “to speak,” Sanskrit bhanati “(he) speaks”

Origin of ban²

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, ban, ban(n)e, iban “a lord's proclamation or edict or summons,” Old English (ge)ban(n) “proclamation, ordinance, summons to arms” (derivative of bannan ); influenced in some senses by Old French ban (Anglicized as ban ), from the same Germanic source; ban ¹

Origin of ban³

First recorded in 1605–15; from Serbo-Croatian bân, contracted from unattested bojan, bajan, said to be from a Turkic personal name, perhaps introduced into the Balkans by the Avars; compare Medieval Greek bo(e)ános “governor”

Origin of ban⁴

First recorded in 1960–65; from Romanian, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Serbo-Croatian bân “provincial governor”; ban ³

Example Sentences

But then Zhao was one of 10 Chinese players to be banned in a corruption scandal.

From BBC

The ban was the "best way to minimise the risks" to the local community, players and fans, said Mr O'Hara.

From BBC

The sentence includes a two-year travel ban and prohibition of Panahi from membership in any political or social groups, lawyer Mostafa Nili told AFP, adding that they would file an appeal.

From Barron's

Cars and buses will be banned from the bridge during the installation's run between June 6 and 28.

From Barron's

Last month, Unite also claimed managers had threatened agency workers with being banned from jobs or blacklisted if they refused to cross picket lines.

From BBC

Related Words

• bar
• exclude
• halt
• outlaw
• prevent
• prohibit
• proscribe
• restrict
• suppress