lockdown

American  

[lok-doun] / ˈlɒkˌdaʊn /

noun

• lockdowns
  plural

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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lockdowns
  plural

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.

Explanation

A lockdown is when people are restricted to a specific area for safety reasons. When incarcerated people are put on lockdown, they're usually confined inside their cells. Prisons and jails use lockdowns to ensure that inmates and guards are safe, and schools use them the same way, as a response to a threat of danger. During a building lockdown, no one is permitted to enter or leave. Public health lockdowns are a variation on this; the perceived threat isn't violence, but a contagious disease, and staying home reduces the rate of spread. Lockdown originated from the prison meaning and its literal locked cells.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lockdown lockdowns

Students, just back from their summer holidays, were still in lockdown at the school and several other nearby schools more than three hours later.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

It’s a sonic recipe that the two former schoolmates have been mastering since they were under lockdown from COVID.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

With people isolated and bored at home during the lockdown, many were more willing to engage in conspiracy theory content the runs rampant online.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

The quadcopter was discovered at Leipzig airport late on Tuesday night, forcing one runway into lockdown as a bomb disposal robot rolled into action.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

The past few days of lockdown had made things calmer in the kitchen than usual, Leyla had explained.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

That would be the strongest growth rate for the index since the second quarter of 2021, when reopenings from pandemic lockdowns and the resulting upheaval in the economy led to a 91.6% gain.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 2, 2026

April’s reading was the lowest since May 2020, a time of pandemic lockdowns that put a brake on the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Some time between its 2017 release and the COVID-19 lockdowns, the wild-ride chaos of “Money Heist” became streaming’s hottest international thriller.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

And while the pandemic was seen as a boon for many in the video game industry, Steranka says the initial strict lockdowns "impacted Pokémon Go probably more than any other game out there".

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

You might think that would mean lockdowns don’t scare me as much.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden