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

Put your windows on lockdown: Close blinds, shades or curtains during peak daylight hours — especially on south- and west-facing walls — to block radiant heat from entering.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026

A vast security lockdown is in place, mobilising thousands of police and troops, an operation that extends to neighbouring Switzerland on the other side of the lake.

From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026

In the first few months of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Lewis lost her father and McCready her fiancé.

From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026

During the pandemic, he whiled away lockdown by rising early and chronicling nature’s progress in more than 100 pictures on an iPad.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

“We should still take Raske and leave this baby merch on lockdown in Ketterdam.”

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo