What does "ban" mean?
A prohibition.
Ban
/bæn/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A prohibition.
- Grammar: ban is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: forbiddance, prohibition, abscind, admin block.
- Useful contrasts: formal permission, admit, allow.
- Usage evidence: The local school board would go to any length to ban that book.
How to use "ban"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ban" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ban" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ban" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ban" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ban" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "forbiddance" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ban", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A prohibition.
"That sacred fruit, sacred to abstinence, Much more to taste it under ban to touch"
- 2 A subdivision of currency, equal to one hundredth of a Romanian leu.
- 3 A unit measuring information or entropy based on base-ten logarithms, rather than the base-two logarithms that define the bit.
- 4 A title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.
- 5 Initialism of British Approved Name. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 a decree that prohibits something wordnet
- 7 A public proclamation or edict; also, a summons by public proclamation, and in early use especially a summons to arms.
"Bans is common and ordinary amongst the Feudists, and signifies a proclamation, or any publike notice."
- 8 A subdivision of currency, equal to one hundredth of a Moldovan leu.
- 9 a bachelor's degree in nursing wordnet
- 10 The gathering of the (French) king’s vassals for war; the whole body of vassals assembled this way, or liable to be summoned; originally the same as arriere-ban, but distinct since the 16th century, following French usage—see arriere-ban.
"[…] he hath sente abroade to assemble his van and arriere van; wherby, and with the reste of his forces, he prepareth him selfe to enter this countrey; […]"
- 11 an official prohibition or edict against something wordnet
- 12 A curse or anathema. obsolete
"With Hecate's ban thrice blasted, thrice infected"
- 13 100 bani equal 1 leu in Romania wordnet
- 14 A pecuniary mulct or penalty laid upon a delinquent for offending against a ban, such as a mulct paid to a bishop by one guilty of sacrilege or other crimes.
- 15 100 bani equal 1 leu in Moldova wordnet
- 16 a logarithmic unit which measures information or entropy, based on base 10 logarithms and powers of 10. wordnet
Verb
- 1 To prohibit; to interdict; to proscribe; to forbid or block from participation. transitive
"Bare feet are banned in this establishment."
- 2 prohibit especially by legal means or social pressure wordnet
- 3 To summon; to call out. obsolete, transitive
- 4 forbid the public distribution of (a movie or a newspaper) wordnet
- 5 To anathematize; to pronounce an ecclesiastical curse upon; to place under a ban. transitive
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 expel from a community or group wordnet
- 7 To curse; to execrate. transitive
"They will curse and ban[…]even into the deep pit of hell, all that gainsay their appetite."
- 8 ban from a place of residence, as for punishment wordnet
- 9 To curse; to utter curses or maledictions. ambitransitive
":“I seldom ban, sir,” said he to the man; “but if you play any of your hound's-foot tricks, and leave puir Berwick before he's sorted, to rin after spuilzie, deil be wi' me if I do not give your craig a thraw”"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The local school board would go to any length to ban that book."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ban"?
Common synonyms include: forbiddance, prohibition, abscind, admin block, amputate, anathema.
How do you use "ban" in a sentence?
The local school board would go to any length to ban that book.
How do you pronounce "ban"?
Pronounced /bæn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English bannen (“to summon; to banish; to curse”), partly from Old English bannan (“to summon, command, proclaim, call out”), from Proto-West Germanic *bannan; and partly from Old Norse banna (“to prohibit; to curse”), both from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“to proclaim, to order; to summon; to ban; to curse, forbid”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂-new-ti ~ bʰh₂-n̥w-énti, innovative nasal-infixed zero-grade athematic present of *bʰeh₂- (“to say”). Cognate with Dutch bannen (“to ban, exile, discard”), German bannen (“to exile, to exorcise, captivate, excommunicate”), Swedish banna (“to ban, scold”), Vedic Sanskrit भनति (bhánati), Armenian բան (ban) and perhaps Albanian banoj (“to reside, dwell”). See also banal, abandon.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Romanian ban of uncertain origin, perhaps from Serbo-Croatian bân.
Etymology 3
From Banburismus; coined by Alan Turing.
Etymology 4
From South Slavic (compare Serbo-Croatian bȃn), from Proto-Slavic *banъ; see there for more.
Etymology 5
* As a Hungarian surname, from Bán. * As a Hungarian and Serbo-Croatian surname, from bán (“governor”), probably related to Avar баян (bajan, “rich man”). * As a Slovene, reduced from Urban. * As a German surname, spelling variant of Bann. * As a Japanese surname, from 坂 (Ban). * As a Korean surname, spelling variant of Pan. * As a Chinese surname, from 班 (Bān).