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lockdown

[ lok-doun ]
/ ˈlɒkˌdaʊn /
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noun
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.
a security measure taken during an emergency to prevent people from leaving or entering a building or other location: 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.
a freeze or pause: Banks aren’t lending during this credit lockdown.
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Origin of lockdown

First recorded in 1970–75; lock1 + -down, probably extracted from nouns formed from phrasal verbs, such as crackdown, shutdown, etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lockdown in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lockdown

lockdown
/ (ˈlɒkˌdəʊn) /

noun
US 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 timemany schools remained under lockdown yesterday
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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