lockdown

[lok-doun]

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lockdown¹

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

Example Sentences

During COVID, I lived in New York City and every day for three months from the very first day of the lockdown, I went out and I walked.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One last point he makes is the personal savings rate soared during lockdowns, as key costs like childcare and commuting vanished.

Read more on MarketWatch

This next module, expected to last until just before Christmas, will examine the unprecedented economic intervention rolled out when the first lockdown was announced in March 2020.

Read more on BBC

Baroness Hallet said Welsh ministers had failed to take "decisive action" against an "entirely foreseeable" Covid variant resulting in the lockdown.

Read more on BBC

In particular, it will consider the timing and effectiveness of the approach to lockdown and the closure of businesses and schools.

Read more on BBC