How to Use contraband in a Sentence

contraband

noun
  • The border police searched the car for drugs and other contraband.
  • The dogs aren't just there to sniff out contraband.
    — Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 18 Sep. 2025
  • The dogs aren't just there to sniff out contraband.
    — Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 18 Sep. 2025
  • She was found to be in possession of a contraband cell phone.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 30 Aug. 2023
  • But that should be handled in a way that’s almost like contraband.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
  • At that time, the agents also seized and destroyed the contraband meat.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2025
  • He was sentenced to 15 years with three years to serve in the contraband case.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 2 Sep. 2020
  • The clear designs are meant to prevent the tablets from being used to store contraband or weapons.
    — Gabrielle Caplan, WIRED, 6 May 2024
  • This was despite the fact that federal law viewed all cannabis as contraband.
    — Kenneth Michael White, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2026
  • No charges were brought against the family, and no drugs or other contraband were seized.
    — Eliza Fawcett, chicagotribune.com, 19 July 2019
  • The staff and officers searched them but did not locate any contraband.
    — cleveland, 1 Nov. 2019
  • Cheaters have been caught sneaking off to the bathroom to check moves on contraband smartphones.
    — Matt Pearce, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2022
  • The firearm charges could add an additional five years in prison, as would the contraband charges.
    — Nicole Blanchard, idahostatesman, 12 Apr. 2018
  • But the teen's lawyer argued that no evidence of contraband was found.
    — Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 17 July 2024
  • Walk along the beach with an eye out for shipwrecked contraband and treasure, and people will smile at you.
    — Horatio Clare, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Dec. 2018
  • The flow of contraband is controlled by prison gangs, in this case Crips and Bloods.
    — Michael Harriot, The Root, 17 Apr. 2018
  • No contraband was found in the car, according to the report.
    — Assistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026
  • The man in the hoodie slings the bag of digital contraband over his shoulder.
    — Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 1 Mar. 2015
  • The sheriff says inmates won’t be punished for the contraband.
    — USA TODAY, 4 July 2019
  • The contraband was not in plain sight and the officer asked if the nursing staff could search the patient.
    — Joan Rusek, cleveland, 18 Aug. 2023
  • And police could no longer use the odor of cannabis as a reason for searching someone’s car for contraband.
    — Frank Miles, Fox News, 5 Apr. 2021
  • And police could no longer use the odor of cannabis as a reason for searching someone's car for contraband.
    — Marina Villeneuve and Jennifer Peltz, Star Tribune, 31 Mar. 2021
  • The contraband are all over the United States, the agency said.
    — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 16 Aug. 2021
  • Some prisons are scrambling to stop drones from dropping contraband inside their gates.
    — Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 4 May 2026
  • Smothers is also charged with possessing contraband, a cell phone, in his prison cell.
    — Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Six 24/7 checkpoints have been set up on the main entrances to the city to search for weapons or contraband.
    — Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2019
  • The detainee then took the contraband on a bus back to Rikers Island.
    — Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 16 May 2024
  • The trooper found two traps used to conceal contraband in the floorboard, the affidavit says.
    — Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2022
  • During the long, long months when Russian forces were in charge, the national flag was contraband.
    — Hanna Arhirova, ajc, 13 Nov. 2022
  • Some have blamed Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar for the spike in contraband smuggling.
    — Laignee Barron, Time, 29 May 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contraband.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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