cease and desist

Idioms  

1. Stop, leave off doing something, as in: “Bliss excavated at least once on his own and Dr. Brand ... told him to cease and desist” (Douglas Preston quoting Frank Hibben, The New Yorker, June 12, 1995). This legal term is a redundancy, since cease and desist mean virtually the same thing, but often appears in legal documents to avoid possible misinterpretation. [c. 1920]

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Example Sentences

He was given a cease and desist notice and details about previous court cases which had seen defendants receiving custodial sentences.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026

Small is represented by barrister Francis McEntegart, who sent a cease and desist letter to the club with a demand for compensation.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Swalwell’s attorney Elias Dabaie of the law firm Dabaie Kelley, in Los Angeles, confirmed Friday that he sent the cease and desist letter, which tells the recipient that they could be sued for defamation.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Swalwell’s attorneys filed a cease and desist letter with Patel and the FBI.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

One day he lit into Vanguard’s index funds and almost instantly received a cease and desist order from Vanguard’s attorneys.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis