restriction
Americannoun
-
something that restricts; a restrictive condition or regulation; limitation.
- Synonyms:
- restraint, reservation, provision, rule
-
the act of restricting.
-
the state of being restricted.
noun
-
something that restricts; a restrictive measure, law, etc
-
the act of restricting or the state of being restricted
-
logic maths a condition that imposes a constraint on the possible values of a variable or on the domain of arguments of a function
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonrestrictionnoun
-
overrestrictionnoun
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prerestrictionnoun
-
restrictionistnoun
-
self-restrictionnoun
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superrestrictionnoun
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prorestrictionadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of restriction
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin restrictiōn-, stem of restrictiō; equivalent to restrict + -ion
Explanation
A restriction is a limitation or a restraint, like when a size restriction keeps you from jumping on a toddler trampoline and bouncing the smaller kids a mile up in the air. Usually a restriction is in place because a limit needs to be set. Common sense would keep you from putting a bowling ball in a paper bag; you wouldn’t need a restriction to tell you not to do it. Sometimes a restriction is the result of doing something bad or misusing a privilege, as when your parents put a restriction on video gaming to limit your time in front of the TV.
Vocabulary lists containing restriction
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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Central America and the Caribbean - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The ban comes after 1,100 responses to a consultation which strongly supported introducing an age restriction on the drinks, external.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
For more than a decade, aircraft entering Yemeni airspace have needed prior clearance from the Saudi-led coalition that backs the government and says it enforces the restriction at its request.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Participants assigned to continuous calorie restriction consumed about 70% of their normal calorie intake each day.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
As BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitz recently said in a note, the restriction “underscores the power of Anthropic’s models and their current leadership position.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
This nondecreasing property of the event horizon’s area placed an important restriction on the possible behavior of black holes.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
The ban will officially come in from 00:01 BST on Saturday, but SEW has asked its customers to abide by the restrictions immediately.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Qatar proposed a 10-day ceasefire and an end to shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, though it is unclear if either side is ready.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The water company, which relies on reservoirs to supply homes, said levels at Arlington Reservoir in East Sussex had dropped to where its drought plan stated it needed to introduce restrictions.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
And someone who participates in a clinical trial could run into interstate restrictions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
But every school teacher knows that this is not so, for every school teacher knows the restrictions which have been placed upon Negro education.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.