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# prevent

«prevent» in Mova's school dictionary: **to stop it from happening** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (prevent, prevents, prevented, preventing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To prevent something means to stop it from happening. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#m1)

2) To prevent someone from doing something means to stop them doing it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In safety and health lessons, prevention is the main idea: wash hands to prevent germs spreading; wear sun cream to prevent sunburn; brush teeth to prevent tooth decay; use a smoke alarm to prevent deaths in fires; wear a helmet to prevent head injuries. In science, dams prevent floods and insulation prevents heat loss. Phrases: «prevent from», «help prevent», «prevent accidents», «prevention is better than cure».

### examples

- Washing your hands helps prevent the spread of germs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#x1)
- Sun cream can prevent sunburn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#x2)
- Brushing your teeth prevents tooth decay. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#x3)
- The rain prevented us from playing outside. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#x4)
- Fences prevent children from falling into the pool. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#x5)
- Smoke alarms help prevent deaths in fires. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#x6)
- The goalkeeper prevented a goal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#x7)
- What could we do to prevent accidents in the playground? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/#x8)

### note

Use «prevent someone/something from doing»: «The rain prevented us from going», not «prevented us to go». Noun: «prevention»; adjective «preventable». «Prevent» is before something happens; «cure» or «fix» is after.

### In the corpora

- [Checking the rating on a box, a poster or a streaming page before pressing play prevents many accidents.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/60-next-time-switch-off-tell-and-parental-controls/18/)
- [Broken wrists are the most common injury for skaters, and wrist guards help prevent them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/6-skating-and-sports-safety/18/)
- [Bats can carry rabies, a disease that is deadly once symptoms start but can be prevented with injections given soon after a bite.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/29-germs-from-animals/21/)
- [Drinking water before and during sport on hot days helps prevent heat exhaustion.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/252-heat-equipment-and-mosquitoes/8/)
- [A clear family rule about buying, such as one purchase a month, prevents most arguments.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/414-mums-card/32/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «prevent» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevent/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.