prior restraint

noun

: governmental prohibition imposed on expression before the expression actually takes place

Examples of prior restraint in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The regulatory scheme at issue may not be a prior restraint in the strict sense. — Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 24 Jan. 2025 Student journalists, in particular, were subject to prior restraint and obstruction, the suit claims. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 2 Aug. 2025 In the Court’s view, such prior restraint was acceptable because motion pictures were not organs of public opinion like newspapers but instead a business, pure and simple, and one with a capacity for evil. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Apr. 2026 The company will seek to remove the court order as soon as possible, Babcock said, calling it a presumptively unconstitutional prior restraint. — Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 23 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for prior restraint

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of prior restraint was in 1833

Rhymes for prior restraint

See All Rhymes for prior restraint

Browse Nearby Words

priorly
prior restraint
priorship
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Cite this Entry

“Prior restraint.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prior%20restraint. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Legal Definition

prior restraint

noun
: governmental prohibition on expression (especially by publication) before the expression actually takes place see also Near v. Minnesota and New York Times Co. v. United States compare censorship, freedom of speech

Note: In New York Times Co. v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court restated its position that “any system of prior restraints” bears “a heavy presumption against constitutional validity” and that the government “carries a heavy burden of showing justification for the imposition of such a restraint.”

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