taboo

¹ta·boo

noun

plural taboos also tabus

Definition of TABOO

1

: a prohibition in some cultures against touching, saying, or doing something for fear of immediate harm from a mysterious superhuman force

2

: a prohibition imposed by social custom or as a protective measure <the view that incest, not cannibalism, was the world's first taboo—Phyllis Grosskurth>

3

: belief in taboos

—taboo also tabu adjective

Variants of TABOO

ta·boo also ta·bu \tə-ˈbü, ta-\