restraining order

noun

: a preliminary legal order sometimes issued to keep a situation unchanged pending decision upon an application for an injunction

: a legal order issued against an individual to restrict or prohibit access or proximity to another specified individual

Examples of restraining order in a Sentence

The judge issued a restraining order.

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.

On Wednesday, in response to a lawsuit by several federal employee unions, lawyers with the Justice Department agreed to a temporary restraining order that would largely prohibit DOGE from accessing Treasury Department data. —

Laura Romero, ABC News, 7 Feb. 2025 After hearing the case, Bates will decide whether to impose a temporary restraining order on the Labor Department, ahead of a longer series of hearings. —

Kristan Hawkins, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025 The judge’s pause stems from a lawsuit that the American Federation of Government Employees and several other unions filed in US District Court in Massachusetts on Tuesday seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the February 6 deadline. —

Tami Luhby, CNN, 6 Feb. 2025 That restraining order was set to expire this week. —

Avery Lotz, Axios, 5 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for restraining order

Word History

First Known Use

1780, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of restraining order was in 1780

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Restraining order.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/restraining%20order. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.

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