preventverb [ T ]
uk/prɪˈvent/us/prɪˈvent/B1 to stop something from happening or someone from doing something:
Label your suitcases to prevent confusion.
[ + -ing verb ] His disability prevents him (from) driving.
More examples
- The police seem to be powerless to prevent these attacks.
- She would go over the accident again and again in her mind, wishing that she could somehow have prevented it.
- A block in the pipe was preventing the water from coming through.
- Fierce winds prevented the race from taking place.
- The law has done little to prevent racial discrimination and inequality.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Preventing and impeding
- avert
- avoid
- avoidable
- bar
- be a drag on sb/sth idiom
- block sth out
- blot
- bottleneck
- derail
- fireproof
- hold out on sb
- hold sb/sth back
- hold/keep sb/sth at bay idiom
- holding pattern
- impede
- prevention is better than cure idiom
- preventive
- prohibit
- pull
- pull the rug from under sb's feet idiom
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