English Meaning & Definitions
An official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.
- “The government imposed a trade embargo on the country to protest its human rights record.”
- “The oil embargo caused fuel prices to skyrocket across the nation.”
To impose an official ban on trade or the movement of goods.
- “The international community decided to embargo all shipments of weapons to the conflict zone.”
- “The company was embargoed from exporting its technology to restricted regions.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “embargo”.
Derived from the Spanish 'embargar' (to bar, impede, or sequester), which likely traces back to the Vulgar Latin 'imbarricare', a combination of 'in-' (into) and 'barra' (bar). It entered English in the late 16th century, originally referring to the government order prohibiting the departure of merchant ships from ports.
Think of 'em-BAR-go': The government puts a BAR across the harbor so ships cannot go.
Frequently Asked Questions About “embargo”
1. What is the meaning of “embargo” in English?
In English, embargo (noun) is defined as: “An official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.”.
2. How do you use “embargo” in a sentence?
“The government imposed a trade embargo on the country to protest its human rights record.”
3. What are English synonyms of “embargo”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “embargo”?
Derived from the Spanish 'embargar' (to bar, impede, or sequester), which likely traces back to the Vulgar Latin 'imbarricare', a combination of 'in-' (into) and 'barra' (bar). It entered English in the late 16th century, originally referring to the government order prohibiting the departure of merchant ships from ports.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
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The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.