Prevention
prɪˈvɛnʃən
Definitions
The action of stopping something from happening or arising.
prɪˈvɛnʃən
The act of stopping something from happening.
The company implemented new measures for fraud prevention.
💡 Simply: Imagine your friend is about to trip. Preventing it is like you reaching out to stop them before they fall. It's stopping something bad from happening.
👶 For kids: Stopping something from happening, like putting on your helmet to prevent a boo-boo.
More Examples
Regular checkups are crucial for the prevention of health problems.
Fire drills are a key part of fire prevention efforts.
How It's Used
"Vaccination is an important method of disease prevention."
"Safety regulations are designed for accident prevention."
Idioms & expressions
prevention is better than cure
It is better to stop something bad from happening than to try to fix it after it has happened.
"The company invested in security measures because prevention is better than cure."
From Middle French *prévention*, from Latin *praeventio* ("a coming before, anticipation"), from *praevenire* ("to come before, anticipate").
Used in various contexts throughout history, with an increasing emphasis on public health and safety in modern times.
Memory tip
Think of 'pre-' meaning before and '-vention' meaning coming. Preventing is coming before something bad.