- 1[countable, usually plural] sanction (against somebody) an official order that limits trade, contact, etc. with a particular country, in order to make it do something, such as obeying international law Trade sanctions were imposed against any country that refused to sign the agreement. The economic sanctions have been lifted. Wordfindertradeboom, business, commerce, embargo, import, market, monopoly, sanction, tariff, tradeinternational Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveeconomic, financial, military, … verb + sanctionapply, enforce, impose, … prepositionsanction against, sanction for phrasesthe imposition of sanctions, the lifting of sanctions, a threat of sanctions, … See full entry
- 2[uncountable] (formal) official permission or approval for an action or a change synonym authorization These changes will require the sanction of the court. Their ideas received official sanction at the meeting. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivegovernment, official, divine, … verb + sanctiongive something prepositionwith somebody/something’s sanction, without somebody/something’s sanction See full entry
- 3[countable] sanction (against something) a course of action that can be used, if necessary, to make people obey a law or behave in a particular way synonym penalty The ultimate sanction will be the closure of the restaurant. We now have an effective sanction against the killing of whales. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveeconomic, financial, military, … verb + sanctionapply, enforce, impose, … prepositionsanction against, sanction for phrasesthe imposition of sanctions, the lifting of sanctions, a threat of sanctions, … See full entry See related entries: Types of punishment Word Originlate Middle English (as a noun denoting an ecclesiastical decree): from French, from Latin sanctio(n-), from sancire ‘ratify’. The verb dates from the late 18th cent.Extra examples No decision can be taken without the sanction of the committee. Several firms were under investigation for sanctions busting. Some companies have broken sanctions by supplying arms to the warring states. The UN called for sanctions against the invading country. The conference gave its official sanction to the change of policy. The movement was first given official sanction in the 1960s. The school will use all available sanctions to maintain discipline. There were strict sanctions against absenteeism. No parliamentary sanction is needed for the Treasury to borrow money. Such a step could not be taken without his sanction. The company is in breach of a sanctions order. There were calls for the imposition of sanctions.
sanction
nounBrE BrE//ˈsæŋkʃn//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsæŋkʃn//
Types of punishmentCheck pronunciation: sanction
