Crossword Genius

Keep away - it's a ban (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abstain

'keep' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'away it's a ban' is the wordplay.
'away' indicates anagramming the letters (letters move away from their original places).
'its'+'a'+'ban'='itsaban'
'itsaban' is an anagram of 'ABSTAIN'.

(Other definitions for abstain that I've seen before include "Refuse to vote" , "Resist" , "Choose not to consume" , "Give backing to" , "Choose not to do something" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.