verb

prevent

prih-VEHNT

verb

To stop something from happening, or to keep someone from doing something.

"Regular exercise can help prevent heart disease."

"A locked gate prevented the dog from getting into the yard."

How to Use Prevent

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo stop something from happening before it does.

Common mistake

Use "prevent from" or "prevent someone doing" (British) / "prevent someone from doing" (American), not "prevent to."

Common pairings

prevent from prevent disease crime prevention

prevented past tense, prevents singular

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Can you complete this real example?

Regular exercise can help _____ heart disease.

From Latin praevenire, "to come before, to anticipate," from prae- ("before") + venire ("to come").

event