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Contraband: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Contraband noun. Goods brought into or out of a country illegally.
How to say it
KON-truh-band/ˈkɒntrəband/
3 syllables, stressed on the first (KON).
Contraband in a sentence
Customs officers found contraband cigarettes hidden in the lorry’s spare tyre.
At boarding school, chocolate was contraband and traded like gold.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- smuggled goods
- black-market goods
- bootleg
Where contraband comes from
From Spanish contrabanda, from Italian contrabbando, against a decree.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
At boarding school, chocolate was _____ and traded like gold.
- perpetuity
- suffrage
- contraband
Show the answer
contraband: At boarding school, chocolate was contraband and traded like gold.