Definition of "embargo"

embargo

/ɪmˈbɑɹɡoʊ/

noun
plural embargoes or embargos
1. An order by the government prohibiting ships from leaving port.
2. A ban on trade with another country.
  Quotations
  Instead he [Jefferson] proposed an embargo, an end to all trade between America and England.
  2004, Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
3. A temporary ban on making certain information public.
4. A heavy burden or severe constraint on action or expenditure.
  Quotations
  They were delighted with the idea of their mamma having forgiven Louisa, but sorry, she thought, such a public proof of her pardon necessary as that of giving a party; for the sisters well knew how great an embargo it would lay on the purses of Helen and Georgiana;...
  1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXVII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], page 44
verb
third-person singular simple present embargoes, present participle embargoing, simple past and past participle embargoed
1. (transitive) To impose an embargo on trading certain goods with another country.
2. (transitive) To impose an embargo on a document.
  Quotations
  Embargoed until after first reading in Parliament
  2023 July 4, “Introduction of the Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Bill”, in Ministry of Trade and Industry‎