lockdown

American  

[lok-doun] / ˈlɒkˌdaʊn /

noun

1. the confining of prisoners to their cells, as following a riot or other disturbance.

   The prison lockdown continues, more than three weeks after the death of a guard.

2. a security measure taken during an emergency to prevent people from leaving or entering a building or other location: The governor implemented a statewide lockdown to slow the spread of the virus—residents may not leave their homes for nonessential activities.

   The school remains under lockdown due to police activity in the area.

   The governor implemented a statewide lockdown to slow the spread of the virus—residents may not leave their homes for nonessential activities.

   The army base was on lockdown after a report of shots fired.

3. a freeze or pause.

   Banks aren’t lending during this credit lockdown.

---

lockdown British  

/ ˈlɒkˌdəʊn /

noun

1. a security measure in which those inside a building such as a prison, school, or hospital are required to remain confined in it for a time

   many schools remained under lockdown yesterday

---

Etymology

Origin of lockdown

First recorded in 1970–75; lock ¹ + -down, probably extracted from nouns formed from phrasal verbs, such as crackdown, shutdown, etc.

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, no lockdown zones were established in the areas where the first cases were recorded in late summer of 2024, and critics say that the state veterinary service is significantly understaffed.

From BBC

The pandemic and lockdowns revealed which workers were “essential”—including healthcare workers, grocery clerks, delivery drivers, meatpacking workers.

From The Wall Street Journal

In 2020, lockdowns showed how bad such a selling spiral can be, and the Federal Reserve was forced to buy more than $1 trillion of bonds to stabilize the market.

From The Wall Street Journal

The pandemic and lockdowns upended countless aspects of the way many of us perform our jobs, including what we should wear while doing so.

From The Wall Street Journal

As emergency vehicles swarmed the area, the White House, located a few blocks from where the attack took place, and several embassies in the area went into lockdown.

From The Wall Street Journal