From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsanctionssanctions[plural]PPP official orders or laws stopping trade, communication etc with another country, as a way of forcing its leaders to make political changes → embargosanctions against US sanctions against Cuba a resolution to impose sanctions (=start using sanctions) on North Korea the threat of trade sanctions The UN Security Council may impose economic sanctions. Any talk about lifting sanctions (=ending them) is premature. → sanction
Examples from the Corpus
economic sanctions• Almost 10 years of bombing and economic sanctions have taken an enormous toll.• Unfortunately, never in contemporary history have economic sanctions felled a regime, no matter how weak.• Finally, the courts have ruled that school boards can impose economic sanctions on teachers who go on strike.• But what enables a state to resist the effects of economic sanctions? 