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taboo

Pronunciation: /təˈbuː/

Translate taboo | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of taboo

noun (plural taboos)

  • a social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing: many taboos have developed around physical exposure the use of violence must remain a taboo in our society [mass noun]:Freud applies his notion of taboo in three ways
  • a practice that is prohibited or restricted by social or religious custom:speaking about sex is a taboo in his country

adjective

  • prohibited or restricted by social custom:sex was a taboo subject
  • designated as sacred and prohibited:the burial ground was seen as a taboo place

verb (taboos, tabooing, tabooed)

[with object]
  • place under a taboo:traditional societies taboo female handling of food during this period

Origin:

late 18th century: from Tongan tabu 'set apart, forbidden'; introduced into English by Captain Cook

taboo in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of taboo in the US English dictionary

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