Restriction
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The act of restricting, or the state of being restricted. countable, uncountable
- 2 an act of limiting or restricting (as by regulation) wordnet
- 3 A regulation or limitation that restricts. countable, uncountable
"In the year 1819, Sir Robert Peel brought in a bill, and which finally passed both houses, and received the royal assent on the 2nd July, for continuing the restrictions contained in several acts of parliament, on payments in cash by the bank of England, until the 1st day of May, 1823, and to provide for the gradual resumption of cash payments: [...] VIII. After the first day of May, 1822, the bank of England, if they shall think fit, may pay or exchange the lawful coin of the realm, for any of their own notes, payable on demand."
- 4 the act of keeping something within specified bounds (by force if necessary) wordnet
- 5 The mechanism by which a cell degrades foreign DNA material. countable, uncountable
"Echinorhagata is likewise supported by typical echinoderid autapomorphies, inclusive the number of trichoscalids that is reduced from 14 to 6; restriction of lateral accessory spines to females only; and an apparent restriction of the middorsal spines to appear only on segments 4 to 8."
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- 6 a principle that limits the extent of something wordnet
Example
More examples"They decided to abolish the old restriction."
Etymology
From Middle English restriccioun, from Anglo-Norman restriction, Middle French restriction, and their source, Late Latin restrictiō, from Latin restringō. Morphologically restrict + -ion.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.