Definitions for prevent
prɪˈvɛntpre·vent

Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. prevent, forestall, foreclose, preclude, forbid(verb)

   keep from happening or arising; make impossible

   "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project"

2. prevent, keep(verb)

   stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state

   "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"; "His snoring kept me from falling asleep"; "Keep the child from eating the marbles"

Wiktionary(2.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. prevent(Verb)

   To stop; to keep (from happening).

   I brushed my teeth to prevent them from going yellow.

   Etymology: From preventen, from praeventus, perfect passive participle of praevenio, from prae + venio.

2. prevent(Verb)

   To take preventative measures.

   Etymology: From preventen, from praeventus, perfect passive participle of praevenio, from prae + venio.

3. prevent(Verb)

   To come before; to precede.

   Etymology: From preventen, from praeventus, perfect passive participle of praevenio, from prae + venio.

4. prevent(Verb)

   To outdo, surpass.

   Etymology: From preventen, from praeventus, perfect passive participle of praevenio, from prae + venio.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Prevent(verb)

   to go before; to precede; hence, to go before as a guide; to direct

   Etymology: [L. praevenire, praeventum; prae before + venire to come. See Come.]

2. Prevent(verb)

   to be beforehand with; to anticipate

   Etymology: [L. praevenire, praeventum; prae before + venire to come. See Come.]

3. Prevent(verb)

   to intercept; to hinder; to frustrate; to stop; to thwart

   Etymology: [L. praevenire, praeventum; prae before + venire to come. See Come.]

4. Prevent(verb)

   to come before the usual time

   Etymology: [L. praevenire, praeventum; prae before + venire to come. See Come.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. PReVENT

   PReVENT is a European automotive industry activity co-funded by the European Commission to contribute to road safety by developing and demonstrating preventive safety applications and technologies. Preventive and active safety applications help drivers to avoid or mitigate accidents by using in-vehicle systems that sense the nature and significance of the danger, while taking the driver’s state into account. The PReVENT project is one of the largest initiative on road safety co-funded as an Integrated Project by the European Commission. The total budget amounts to more than €55 million for a duration of 4 years starting from February 2004 to January 2008. It involves more than 50 European partners from the most prominent vehicle manufacturers and equipment suppliers to the best intelligent vehicle research laboratories in Europe. Three general concepts have been followed throughout the PReVENT Integrated Project: The Virtual Safety Belt, the Time-To-Collision timescale and Three-layer architecture. The Virtual Safety Belt is the concept of integrating complementary safety functions in one vehicle. PReVENT partners have worked together to develop the virtual safety belt around the vehicle by

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Prevent

   prē-vent′, v.t. to hinder: to check: to render impossible: (orig.) to go before: to be earlier than.—v.t. Prēvene′ (rare), to precede.—n. Prevē′nience.—adj. Prevē′nient (Milt.), going before: preceding: preventive.—n. Preventabil′ity, the quality of being preventable.—adj. Preven′table, that may be prevented or hindered.—ns. Preven′ter, one who, or that which, prevents or hinders: (naut.) an additional rope or spar for strengthening the ordinary one; Preven′tion, act of preventing: anticipation or forethought: obstruction.—adjs. Preven′tive, Preven′tative, tending to prevent or hinder: preservative.—n. that which prevents: a preservative.—adv. Preven′tively.—n. Preven′tiveness.—Preventive service, the service rendered by the coastguard in preventing smuggling. [L. præventus, pa.p. of prævenīre—præ, before, venīre, to come.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'prevent' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1505

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'prevent' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3288

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'prevent' in Verbs Frequency: #219

How to pronounce prevent?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say prevent in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of prevent in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of prevent in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of prevent in a Sentence

1. Raymond G. Kessler:

   In truth, attempts to regulate the civilian possession of firearms have five political functions. They (1) increase citizen reliance on government and tolerance of increased police powers and abuse; (2) help prevent opposition to the government; (3) facilitate repressive action by government and its allies; (4) lessen the pressure for major or radical reform; and (5) can be selectively enforced against those perceived to be a threat to government.

2. California President Janet Napolitano:

   A primary goal in our efforts at the University of California to prevent and respond to sexual violence and sexual assault has been to make sure law enforcement agencies are more fully engaged with us.

3. Barbara Mulvaney:

   What actions are currently under way to prevent these actions now?

4. Israel Katz:

   The European Court of Justices ruling is unacceptable both morally and in principle, i intend to work with European foreign ministers to prevent the implementation of this gravely flawed policy.

5. Gavin Newsom:

   California is committed to assisting in recovery efforts and the investigation however possible. Based on the findings of the investigation, the state will take action to prevent horrific boat fires like this in the future.

Images & Illustrations of prevent

Popularity rank by frequency of use