contraband

noun

con·​tra·​band ˈkän-trə-ˌband 

1

: illegal or prohibited traffic in goods : smuggling

… persons the most bound in duty to prevent contraband …

—Edmund Burke

2

: goods or merchandise whose importation, exportation, or possession is forbidden

Border police searched the car for drugs and other contraband.

also : smuggled goods

3

plural contrabands : an enslaved person who during the American Civil War escaped to or was brought within the Union lines

contraband adjective

Did you know?

Contraband first appeared in English in the early 1500s as a borrowing of Italian contrabbando. This Italian word can be traced to the Medieval Latin word contrabannum, a combination of contra- ("against") and bannum ("decree"). Bannum is Germanic in origin and is related to Old High German bannan ("to command"). Bannan is also related to Middle English bannen ("to summon or to curse"), the source of the English verb ban, which now means "to prohibit" but which once also meant "to curse."

Examples of contraband in a Sentence

The border police searched the car for drugs and other contraband.

Recent Examples on the Web

Deputies would check inmates in and out, searching them for contraband each time, and call their workplaces or stop by to ensure inmates were following the rules of the program and traveling only to and from their jobs. —Shelly Bradbury, The Denver Post, 13 June 2024

Johnson was handcuffed and had been pepper sprayed following an altercation during a contraband check. —Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 June 2024

As is policy with contraband found floating offshore or that washes up, Linhardt said the sheriff’s office turned over the cocaine to the U.S. Border Patrol. —David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 5 June 2024

According to the indictment, Wozniak also smuggled contraband into the prison and provided it to the prisoner over a period of months, from April to November 2023. —Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 29 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Italian; Middle French contrebande, borrowed from Italian contrabando (later contrabbando), originally Upper Italian (Venetian) chontrabando (Medieval Latin of Venice contrabannum), from contra- contra- + bando "proclamation, edict, law," borrowed from Gothic bandwo "sign, signal" — more at band entry 3

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

contraband

noun

con·​tra·​band ˈkän-trə-ˌband 

1

: goods forbidden by law to be owned or to be brought into or out of a country

2

: smuggled goods

contraband adjective

Etymology

from Italian contrabbando "smuggling," from Latin contrabannum, literally, "against the decree or command," from contra "against" and bannum, bannus "decree"; of Germanic origin

Legal Definition

contraband

noun

con·​tra·​band ˈkän-trə-ˌband 

: property that is unlawfully produced, possessed, or transported

— contraband per se

: property that is in and of itself unlawful to possess, produce, or transport

— derivative contraband

: property that is unlawful because it is used in committing an unlawful act

Etymology

Italian contrabbando act of smuggling, from contra- against + bando edict, law