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

When a new national lockdown was announced on 5 January 2021, across hospitals in England about one in four general admission beds were occupied by patients with coronavirus.

From BBC

The 217-page report argues the UK planned for the wrong pandemic - a mild one where spread of a new virus was inevitable - and this led to the "untested" policy of lockdown.

From BBC

He said he regretted the disastrous handling of his infamous trip to Barnard Castle during the first lockdown, but denied his actions had damaged public trust.

From BBC

Separately, Ms O'Neill apologised for attending senior republican Bobby Storey's funeral during lockdown, when she was deputy first minister.

From BBC

In 2020, during the coronavirus lockdown, Myles began posting covers, with his acoustic version of The Neighbourhood’s Sweater Weather going viral in 2022.

From BBC