work stoppage

noun

: concerted cessation of work by a group of employees usually more spontaneous and less serious than a strike

Examples of work stoppage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Kaiser nurses statewide began an indefinite strike Monday, restarting picket lines that went idle after a five-day work stoppage in October 2025. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026

The longest work stoppage occurred in the NHL from September 2004 to July 2005, when CBA negotiations dragged on for a 310-day lockout. —Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026

Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in California and Hawaii walked off the job early Monday in the latest work stoppage to roil the nation’s largest not-for-profit medical provider. —Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026

But either side is now able to initiate a work stoppage. —Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 22 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

work stoppage

noun

: a cessation of work by employees as a job action

Note: Work stoppage is often used to refer to a cessation of work that is less serious and more spontaneous than one referred to as a strike. As used in the Labor Management Relations Act strike refers to “any…concerted stoppage of work by employees…and any concerted slowdown or other concerted interruption of operations by employees.”