Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Goods prohibited by law or treaty from being imported or exported.
- n. Illegal traffic in contraband; smuggling.
- n. Smuggled goods.
- n. Goods that may be seized and confiscated by a belligerent if shipped to another belligerent by a neutral.
- n. An escaped slave during the Civil War who fled to or was taken behind Union lines.
- adj. Prohibited from being imported or exported.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Prohibited or excluded by proclamation, law, or treaty.
- n. Illegal or prohibited traffic.
- n. Anything by law prohibited to be imported or exported.
- n. In the United States, during the civil war, a negro slave, especially an escaped or a captured slave: so called from a decision of General B. F. Butler, in 1861, that slaves coming into his lines or captured were contraband of war, and so subject to confiscation.
- To declare prohibited; forbid.
- To import illegally, as prohibited goods; smuggle.
Wiktionary
- n. uncountable any goods which are illicit or illegal to possess
- n. uncountable goods which are prohibited from being traded, smuggled goods
- n. countable, US, historical A black slave during the American Civil War who had escaped to, or been captured by, Union forces.
- adj. prohibited from being traded
- v. obsolete To import illegally; to smuggle.
- v. obsolete To declare prohibited; to forbid.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Illegal or prohibited traffic.
- n. Goods or merchandise the importation or exportation of which is forbidden.
- n. U.S. A negro slave, during the Civil War, escaped to, or was brought within, the Union lines. Such slave was considered contraband of war.
- adj. Prohibited or excluded by law or treaty; forbidden.
- v. obsolete To import illegally, as prohibited goods; to smuggle.
- v. obsolete To declare prohibited; to forbid.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. distributed or sold illicitly
- n. goods whose importation or exportation or possession is prohibited by law
Etymologies
- Italian contrabbando : contra-, against (from Latin contrā-; see contra-) + bando, legal proclamation (from Late Latin bannus, of Germanic origin; see bhā-2 in Indo-European roots). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Her cargo was s'posed to be dry goods, provisions an 'lumber, but dere was a good deal more aboard her, guns, powder an' what they call contraband, ef you know jes 'what that is.”
“If any contraband is discovered to be in your possession, you will be subject to a minimum $1,000.00 fine.”
“Finally, the court concluded contraband is dangerous only if there is a substantial probability the item will be used in a manner likely to cause death or serious injury; facilitate an escape or pose a threat to institutional safety or security.”
“The ship and cargo are taken into a port of the captor; the contraband is condemned in a prize court, but the fate of the ship itself varies.”
“The commodity most recently sought to be brought into the list as contraband is coal.”
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“The contraband is lawfully seized and admitted into evidence against the probationer, but unlawfully seized and suppressed in the case against the other person.”
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“The ship and cargo are taken into a port of the captor; the contraband is condemned in a prizecourt”
“Oh I forgot, its a good place to obtain contraband and send it back to the states, now I understand why everyone here is so pissed.”
“Penal provisions regarding trafficking in contraband cigarettes or smokeless tobacco.”
“Tyler was sure the old man was referring to the contraband marked SCISSORS, NEEDLES, AWLS.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘contraband’.
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Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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In the Collieries
A collection of coal mining and colliery terms. Some British, some Scots, and some, Other. Many terms are quite to the point; others colorful and imaginative.
Also see Middlesmith's li...fire-damp, black-damp, choke-damp, skip, basket, gallery, Gregory lamp, pit, balance, balancer, tenter, coupler and 313 more...
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Bands
band, bands, The Band, Band, rubber band, gum band, Geneva bands, preaching bands, barrister's bands, Band-Aid, wedding band, Citizens' Band and 55 more...
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contra-
against or opposite; below or beyond
contraband, contrabass, contradiction, contraindication, contrapose, contrast, contraception, contradict, contraceptive, contralto, contraposition, contrary and 1 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Altered States Research Lab
Words and terms about (illicit) drugs and related subcultures.
reefer, golden brown, ganja, embalming fluid, shrooms, angel dust, bong, mescaline, handcuffs, padded cell, spliff, ecstasy and 79 more...
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moreover and apropos of nothing
l'aspirateur
esprit
coquillage
treble
loquacious
verbose
aristocracy
aristo
aristocrat
aristocratic
antwerp
implore
exudein situ, frequency, fluent, counterpoint, no admittance, trespass, canvas, caravan, rapture, tendril, sonicity, succor and 25 more...
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the first list
an immense, grandiloquent list that loads like a thousand years sentence in stone. new words are in the other lists.
ridiculous, brummagem, predicament, sanctimonious, vapid, eschew, admonish, auspicious, capitulation, enumerate, lachrymose, tenet and 1648 more...
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dark and bright words of shine and fi...
scotophil, scotoma, scotia, shed, shadow, shade, scone, whiting, edelweiss, light, lightning, lucina and 349 more...
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samuraizack's Words
floccinaucinihili..., pneumonoultramicr..., bombastic, existentialistic, velocipede, aglet, anatomical snuffbox, wonk, tang, funambulist, quakebuttock, flews and 390 more...
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Words that delight me
tepid, perfunctory, trope, benign, inordinate, bewildering, ersatz, boon, delectable, apt, scuttlebutt, sequester and 398 more...
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DEF's list
Obscure Words
obfuscate, harbinger, morose, meniscus, conspicuous, grandiose, cogitated, matron, erudite, oness, apothegms, assuage and 475 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, C
cryptoxanthin, convent, calcar, chuckle, campanile, covet, complexion, campestral, chirography, counterscarp, caliginous, catabolism and 722 more...
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Vocab List 2
bruit, smite, malapropism, tricorn, tenebrous, mawkish, disjunctive, mammon, lothario, embonpoint, pabulum, pother and 148 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for contraband.

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