contraband

Origin:
1520–30; earlier contrabanda < Spanish < Italian contrabando (now contrabbando), equivalent to contra- contra-¹ + Medieval Latin bandum, variant of bannum ban²

Related forms

non·con·tra·band, noun, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To contraband

Collins

World English Dictionary

contraband (ˈkɒntrəˌbænd)

—n
1.	a. goods that are prohibited by law from being exported or imported
	b. illegally imported or exported goods
2.	illegal traffic in such goods; smuggling
3.	international law Also called: contraband of war goods that a neutral country may not supply to a belligerent
4.	(during the American Civil War) a Black slave captured by the Union forces or one who escaped to the Union lines

—*adj*
5.	of goods
	a. forbidden by law from being imported or exported
	b. illegally imported or exported

[C16: from Spanish contrabanda, from Italian contrabando (modern contrabbando), from Medieval Latin contrabannum, from contra- + bannum ban, of Germanic origin]

'contrabandist

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

contraband

1529, from M.Fr. contrebande "a smuggling," from It. contrabando, from L. contra "against" (see contra) + M.L. bannum, from Frank. *ban "a command" (see ban).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

contraband definition

Goods illegally transported across borders to avoid the payment of taxes.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

contraband

in the laws of war, goods that may not be shipped to a belligerent because they serve a military purpose.

Learn more about contraband with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

Contraband showtimes and ticket information by city or zip code.

As a result, the diamond trade is awash in contraband.

Undercover agents arrest a suspected rooster fighter while in possession of

contraband birds.

The cartel has devised endless ways to hide contraband in commercial cargo and