ban
1 Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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the act of prohibiting by law; interdiction.
- Synonyms:
- taboo, interdict, proscription, prohibition
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informal denunciation or prohibition, as by public opinion.
society's ban on racial discrimination.
- Synonyms:
- taboo
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Law.
-
a proclamation.
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a public condemnation.
-
-
Ecclesiastical. a formal condemnation; excommunication.
-
a malediction; curse.
noun
-
a public proclamation or edict.
-
Ecclesiastical. bans, banns.
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(in the feudal system)
-
the summoning of the sovereign's vassals for military service.
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the body of vassals summoned.
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noun
-
(formerly) the governor of Croatia and Slavonia.
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History/Historical. a provincial governor of the southern marches of Hungary.
noun
plural
baniverb
-
(tr) to prohibit, esp officially, from action, display, entrance, sale, etc; forbid
to ban a book
to ban smoking
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(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
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archaic to curse
noun
-
an official prohibition or interdiction
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law an official proclamation or public notice, esp of prohibition
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a public proclamation or edict, esp of outlawry
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archaic public censure or condemnation
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archaic a curse; imprecation
noun
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Disneyland, which drew more than 17 million domestic and international visitors last year, bans unauthorized events, speeches and the display of banners, including any sign “as part of a demonstration.”
From Los Angeles Times
While other countries may not have issued formal or complete airspace bans, many have shut airports, while some airlines have halted operations in response.
In an unprecedented move, on Dec. 2, 2025, the AEA announced that it had placed a lifetime ban on Summers from all its conferences and other activities.
From Salon
Pitch@Palace was later involved in a storm of controversy after the co-founder of the China arm, Yang Tengbo, was banned from the UK because he was suspected of being a spy – which he denies.
From BBC
Last April, Kennedy announced that the US would ban eight commonly used artificial food dyes.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
