cease-fire
Americannoun
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a cessation of hostilities; truce.
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Military. an order issued for a cease-fire.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cease-fire
First recorded in 1840–50; noun use of verb phrase cease fire
Explanation
When two warring countries take a short break from killing each other's soldiers, it's a cease-fire. Often part of peace talks, a cease-fire is a temporary pause in a battle. Any time a commander orders troops to stop firing their weapons, that's a cease-fire. The noun, in fact, comes from a military command: "Cease fire!" Cease means "stop," from the Latin cessare, "go slow or leave off." Another name for a cease-fire is a truce; it can be an informal agreement to delay any violence for the time being, or part of an official treaty between nations and the end of a war.
Vocabulary lists containing cease-fire
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 19–January 25, 2025
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 24–March 1, 2024
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 17–August 23, 2024
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
West Texas Intermediate crude prices fell from nearly $120 a barrel in early April to around $70 as cease-fire plans eased Iran war fears.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
Oil prices rose early Monday, with Brent crude up 0.8% to $73.20 and WTI up 1.2% to $70.08, despite a U.S.-Iran cease-fire.
From Barron's • Jun. 29, 2026
He added that the cease-fire was “very fragile” and that traders should “expect volatility to continue on headline risks until we see some solid agreement and the strait completely open without tolls.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026
First of all, the Minneapolis Fed president, who is a voting member of the Fed’s interest-rate committee this year, said he wasn’t sure the fragile cease-fire with Iran would hold.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026
The North Vietnamese agreed to accept South Vietnam as a separate country, and a cease-fire was established.On the same day, in Washington, DC, the Selective Service announced the end of the draft.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
