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When Should You Use embargo?
English speakers got embargo—both the word and the concept, it seems—from the Spanish in the early 17th century. The word first referred specifically to a government order prohibiting commercial ships from entering or leaving that country’s ports. (The Spanish word comes from embargar, “to bar.”) By the middle of the 17th century embargo was being used more broadly to refer to any government order that limits trade in some way. Today, the word is applied more broadly still to refer to various prohibitions. Publishers, for example, often place an embargo on a book to prevent stores from selling it before its official release date. And in Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion, Anne Elliot says “I lay no embargo on anybody's words.” We feel similarly.
Examples of embargo in a Sentence
Sam McNeil, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2025
As far as the endgame for the campaign against Maersk, Saleh said the only demand the Palestinian Youth Movement has is an arms embargo.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 June 2025
Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 26 June 2025
Examples: Brand tone guidelines, embargoed campaign details and competitive comparison policies.
—Sagar Gupta, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for embargo
Cite this Entry
“Embargo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embargo. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
embargo
1 of 2 noun
embargo
2 of 2 transitive verbNoun
Spanish, from embargar to bar
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