Embargoes may be put in place for any number of reasons. For instance, a government may place a trade embargo against another country to express its disapproval with that country's policies. But governments are not the only bodies that can place embargoes. A publisher, for example, could place an embargo on a highly anticipated book to prevent stores from selling it before its official release date. The word embargo, dating from around the year 1600, derives via Spanish embargar from Vulgar Latin imbarricare, formed from the prefix im- and the noun barra ("bar").
Noun there's a standing embargo against the use of foul language in this house
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The United States imposed an economic embargo on Cuba in 1960 following the revolution led by Fidel Castro and the nationalization of properties belonging to U.S. citizens and corporations. Edith M. Lederer, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2022 Headquarters needed someone to drive into the field and lift an environmental embargo. Terrence Mccoy, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2022 The European Union on Friday formally approved an embargo on Russian oil and other sanctions targeting major banks and broadcasters. Editors, USA TODAY, 5 June 2022 So, countries close the borders and put an embargo on energy resources. Isabelle Khurshudyan, Washington Post, 16 Aug. 2022 Featuring high up on that list are Russia and Ukraine, but with an embargo on Russian exports and the war raging across Ukraine, there is no visible solution in the near future. Camille Knight, CNN, 8 Aug. 2022 The group also launched an embargo on strawberries in the Florida Keys. John Clarke, WSJ, 31 July 2022 Both Sweden and Finland will also lift an informal arms embargo on Turkey imposed in 2019 after Turkey had intervened in northern Syria.New York Times, 29 June 2022 Both Sweden and Finland will also lift an informal arms embargo on Turkey imposed in 2019 after Turkey had intervened in northern Syria. Michael D. Shear, BostonGlobe.com, 29 June 2022
Verb
With the European Union deciding last week to embargo most Russian gas, that means the price of gasoline likely will rise even more, further increasing inflationary pressures. Daniel Markind, Forbes, 7 June 2022 After Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky and countless ordinary Ukrainians entreated Europe to embargo Russian energy, which has long been central to European economies. Sophie Pinkham, The New York Review of Books, 8 June 2022 This week, European Union leaders agreed to embargo most Russian oil imports to members of the trading bloc by year-end. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 1 June 2022 Zelensky said more nations should embargo Russian oil and block its banks, and foreign companies should pull out of Russia. Harold Maass, The Week, 24 May 2022 At the same time, Hungary is blocking an E.U. plan to embargo imports of Russian oil.New York Times, 24 May 2022 More than two months into Russia's war on Ukraine, the European Union on Wednesday announced plans to embargo Russian oil, its biggest economic sacrifice yet to stifle the Russian economy and President Vladimir Putin. Democrat-gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 5 May 2022 But the conflict is also a war against NATO, given Ukraine’s position as an applicant, NATO’s military support for Ukraine, and NATO’s willingness to embargo Russian products and cut off Russian energy. Seth Cropsey, WSJ, 27 Apr. 2022 The government has resisted pressure to preemptively embargo Russian energy supplies, as the United States has done, saying that an immediate end to imports would wreak havoc on the German economy.Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Spanish, from embargar to bar, from Vulgar Latin *imbarricare, from Latin in- + Vulgar Latin *barra bar