embargo
/ɛmˈbɑːɡəʊ
/ /ɪmˈbɑːɡəʊ/noun (plural embargoes)
1An official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country: an embargo on grain sales an arms embargo...
- The Arab states, which in 1973 imposed an embargo on oil shipments to the US, have not indicated any intention of repeating that action so far.
- The EU, under intense pressure from the US to maintain its arms trade embargo on China, told Beijing on Sunday not to expect an end to the ban before the middle of this year.
- By the time the US trade embargo on Vietnam was lifted in 1994, Coke already had a head start in developing the Vietnamese market.
1.1An official ban on any activity: there is a complete embargo on taking photographs in court
Synonyms
ban, bar, prohibition, stoppage, interdict, proscription, veto, moratorium;
restriction, restraint, blockage, check, barrier, impediment, obstruction, hindrance;
boycott
2 historical An order of a state forbidding foreign ships to enter, or any ships to leave, its ports: an embargo laid by our Emperor upon all vessels whatsoever
verb (embargoes, embargoing, embargoed) [with object]
1Impose an official ban on (trade or a country or commodity): all of these countries have been embargoed by the US...
- The President of the United States on his sole decision deploys troops anywhere in the world, blockades and embargoes foreign countries, imposes trade tariffs, and engages in election cycle credit inflation.
- I once embargoed your own country because your Queen banned the Guild, did you know that?
- Publishers were also upset that the ruling prohibits collaborations between scientists in the US and embargoed countries.
1.1Officially ban the publication of: documents of national security importance are routinely embargoed...
- That is why it is embargoed for general publication until Friday.
- The abstract of his study was embargoed for publication in the United States on Monday 30 October, and the study will be published in Rheumatology later this month.
- At what point are we hurting ourselves and curtailing progress when we embargo publications in the name of security?
Synonyms
ban, bar, prohibit, stop, interdict, debar, proscribe, outlaw, make illegal;
restrict, restrain, block, check, impede, obstruct, hinder;
boycott, blacklist, ostracize
2 archaic Seize (a ship or goods) for state service: they must embargo means of transport...
- The French coast was now blockaded, and to compound the chaos, in August the Convention banned the export of all goods of first necessity and embargoed all neutral ships.
Origin
Early 17th century: from Spanish, from embargar 'arrest', based on Latin in- 'in, within' + barra 'a bar'.
A Spanish word, from embargar ‘to arrest’. When it was first used in English, embargo referred to an order prohibiting ships from entering or leaving a country's ports, usually just before a war. These days it is an official ban on trade with a particular country.