noun
prevention
prih-VEHN-shuhn
noun
1
The act of stopping something, especially a problem or danger, before it happens.
"Fire prevention starts with checking your smoke alarms regularly."
"The clinic focuses on prevention rather than just treating illness."
How to Use Prevention
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishStopping a problem before it starts, rather than dealing with it afterwards.
Common pairings
crime prevention
disease prevention
prevention is better than cure
Word Forms
preventions plural
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Fire _____ starts with checking your smoke alarms regularly.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin preventio, related to praevenire ("to anticipate, to come before").