lockdown

noun

lock·​down ˈläk-ˌdau̇n 

plural lockdowns

1

: the confinement of prisoners to their cells for all or most of the day as a temporary security measure

2

a

: an emergency measure or condition in which people are temporarily prevented from entering or leaving a restricted area or building (such as a school) during a threat of danger

For those of you unfamiliar with a school lockdown, it basically means that … when there is a threat of danger, the doors to all the classrooms and offices are locked.

—Anne Sponholtz

lockdown drills/procedures

b

: a temporary condition imposed by governmental authorities (as during the outbreak of an epidemic disease) in which most people are required to refrain from or limit activities outside the home involving public contact (such as dining out or attending large gatherings)

Authorities placed the central Chinese city under lockdown on Jan. 23 after the virus had infected hundreds of residents and was just starting its spread across the globe.

—Darryl Coote

The San Francisco Bay Area lockdown and national guidelines signal a rapid escalation of government and business efforts to halt the coronavirus spread via restrictions that will slam the brakes on economic activity.

—Ed Carson

While most people are at home during lockdown, essential workers are still on the front lines and need their children to be looked after.

—George Heagney

Examples of lockdown in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Seventeen people died in TDCJ facilities since the lockdown started for the population of about 129,800, a prison spokeswoman said. —Aria Jones, Dallas News, 15 Sep. 2023

The escape prompted George Washington University to go into lockdown and ask students to shelter in place, and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith launched an internal investigation into the circumstances of the getaway. —Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 15 Sep. 2023

The theater had just reopened following COVID-19 lockdown. —Kate Tuttle, Peoplemag, 13 Sep. 2023

Share [Findings] A psycholinguistic analysis of posts on Twitter and Weibo during COVID-19 lockdowns found that residents of Lombardy grew increasingly focused on leisure and residents of Wuhan grew increasingly focused on religion. —Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 13 Sep. 2023

While Wilson was contemplating the Greeks sickening in their camp, and the Trojans caged behind their city walls, the plague of Covid forced her family of five into lockdown. —Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023

Part of the coordination strategy was deciding when to evacuate communities and when to use lockdowns instead, in order to leave the roads clear for firefighters and emergency services to access burning areas. —Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Sep. 2023

The Chinese economy is weighed down by a property bubble, local government debt, high youth unemployment and a broader inability to rebound as expected from pandemic lockdowns. —Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Sep. 2023

Their car, however, was later found near Laurel Elementary, which briefly went on lockdown due to its proximity to the suspects, Harvey said. —Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Legal Definition

lockdown

noun

lock·​down ˈläk-ˌdau̇n 

: the confinement of prisoners to their cells for a temporary period as a security measure