/
ɛmˈbɑːgəʊ,
ɪm-/
n.
(pl. embargoes)
- an official ban, especially on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.
- historical an order of a state forbidding foreign ships to enter, or any ships to leave, its ports.
v.
(embargoes, embargoing, embargoed)
- ban (something) officially.
- archaic seize (a ship or goods) for state service.
Etymology
C17: from Sp., from embargar ‘arrest’.