grind to a halt

Idioms  

1. Also, come to a grinding halt. Gradually come to a standstill or end. For example, Once the funding stopped, the refurbishing project ground to a halt, or She's come to a grinding halt with that book she's writing. This expression alludes to a clogged engine that gradually stops or a ship that runs aground.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grind to a halt

Many scenes grind to a halt with the shy girl too terrified to speak.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

"Japan's economy approached the Iran war with solid momentum but we think that GDP growth will grind to a halt this quarter and next," he wrote in a note.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

Researchers at the University of Southampton have found new evidence that Earth's climate did not completely grind to a halt during its most extreme ice age, a time often called Snowball Earth.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 12, 2026

But the companies still have to make money, Windsor said, or else “the whole proposition will grind to a halt while the market figures out the economic way forward.”

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 2, 2026

Managers may truly believe that, without their unremitting efforts, all work would quickly grind to a halt.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich