contraband

noun

con·​tra·​band ˈkän-trə-ˌband 

1

: illegal or prohibited traffic in goods : smuggling

… persons the most bound in duty to prevent contraband …

—Edmund Burke

2

: goods or merchandise whose importation, exportation, or possession is forbidden

Border police searched the car for drugs and other contraband.

also : smuggled goods

3

plural contrabands : an enslaved person who during the American Civil War escaped to or was brought within the Union lines

contraband adjective

Did you know?

Contraband first appeared in English in the early 1500s as a borrowing of Italian contrabbando. This Italian word can be traced to the Medieval Latin word contrabannum, a combination of contra- ("against") and bannum ("decree"). Bannum is Germanic in origin and is related to Old High German bannan ("to command"). Bannan is also related to Middle English bannen ("to summon or to curse"), the source of the English verb ban, which now means "to prohibit" but which once also meant "to curse."

Examples of contraband in a Sentence

The border police searched the car for drugs and other contraband.

Recent Examples on the Web

The story noted that during a pre-planned sweep of the jail in search of contraband last year, prosecutors claim an investigator took photos of some of Combs’ personal notes. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2025

This year alone, the letter said, an inmate assaulted a staff member at the jail, and the state's Department of Health and Human Services found evidence that contraband had been smuggled in with the help of detention staff members. —Lucille Sherman, Axios, 7 Apr. 2025

The communications were discovered after corrections officers confiscated a contraband cellphone that Amato smuggled into prison. —Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 14 Mar. 2025

The contraband was allegedly intended to be pulled into the prison and retrieved by Campbell’s accomplices, at his behest. —Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 10 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Italian; Middle French contrebande, borrowed from Italian contrabando (later contrabbando), originally Upper Italian (Venetian) chontrabando (Medieval Latin of Venice contrabannum), from contra- contra- + bando "proclamation, edict, law," borrowed from Gothic bandwo "sign, signal" — more at band entry 3

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for contraband

• ampersand
• beforehand
• behindhand
• bottomland
• countermand
• dixieland
• fairyland
• fatherland
• firebrand
• hinterland
• motherland
• narrowband

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Kids Definition

contraband

noun

con·​tra·​band ˈkän-trə-ˌband 

1

: goods forbidden by law to be owned or to be brought into or out of a country

2

: smuggled goods

contraband adjective

Etymology

from Italian contrabbando "smuggling," from Latin contrabannum, literally, "against the decree or command," from contra "against" and bannum, bannus "decree"; of Germanic origin

Legal Definition

contraband

noun

con·​tra·​band ˈkän-trə-ˌband 

: property that is unlawfully produced, possessed, or transported

— contraband per se

: property that is in and of itself unlawful to possess, produce, or transport

— derivative contraband

: property that is unlawful because it is used in committing an unlawful act

Etymology

Italian contrabbando act of smuggling, from contra- against + bando edict, law