lockdown

IPA/ˈlɒkdaʊn/
KK[lˈɑkdˌaʊn]IPA/ˈlɑːkdaʊn/

lockdown — noun

  • lockdownsingular
  • lockdownsplural

1. a short emergency state in which nobody may enter or leave a closed-off building

1.nounB2
Definition

a short emergency state in which nobody may enter or leave a closed-off building, used to keep everyone safe from a sudden threat nearby

Example

The school went into lockdown after a stranger was seen near the playground.

go into lockdown for entering an emergency security state

Liam stayed under his desk during the lockdown until the police arrived.

Common collocations
  • go into lockdown
  • be on lockdown
  • order a lockdown
  • lift a lockdown
Synonyms
  • shutdown

    stopping operations, not always about physical safety

  • containment

    keeping a threat inside an area; more technical

Grammar Patterns

go into lockdown

be on lockdown

be in lockdown

Usage Note

Often used with 'go into', 'be on', or 'be in'. Subject is usually a building or institution (school, hospital, prison) rather than a whole region.

Common Mistakes

The school made a lockdown.
The school went into lockdown.
use 'go into lockdown', not 'make'.

2. a period when a government tells most people to stay at home and avoid public pl

2.nounB2
Definition

a period when a government tells most people to stay at home and avoid public places, so that a serious illness cannot spread quickly

Example

Many shops closed during the lockdown because customers had to stay at home.

during lockdown for the period of disease restrictions

Imani learned to bake bread while the whole city was under lockdown.

Common collocations
  • go into lockdown
  • impose a lockdown
  • ease the lockdown
  • during lockdown
Synonyms
  • quarantine

    keeping sick or exposed people apart, often individually

  • curfew

    rule against going out at certain hours, not all day

Grammar Patterns

go into lockdown

during lockdown

impose a lockdown

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense covers a whole population over days or weeks for health reasons, while sense 1 is a short building-level security state. Subject is usually a government or country.

Common Mistakes

We were in lockdown of the virus.
We were in lockdown because of the virus.
use 'because of', not 'of'.

3. a security action in a prison where inmates must stay shut inside their cells ne

3.nounB2
Definition

a security action in a prison where inmates must stay shut inside their cells nearly all day, usually to stop trouble or restore order

Example

The prison went on lockdown after two inmates started a fight in the yard.

go on lockdown for a prison sealing inmates in cells

During the lockdown, prisoners ate every meal alone inside their small cells.

Common collocations
  • be on lockdown
  • go on lockdown
  • place on lockdown
  • during a lockdown
Synonyms
  • confinement

    being kept in a closed space; more general

  • solitary

    informal for keeping one prisoner alone, harsher than a general lockdown

Grammar Patterns

be on lockdown

place a prison on lockdown

Usage Note

Only sense used specifically of prisons. The confinement is to cells, not to a home or building exit; distinguish from sense 1, which restricts movement across a whole building.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

These words all describe limits on where people can go, but the scope differs. A 'lockdown' is the broadest: a whole population is told to stay home and avoid public places, usually during a serious outbreak. 'Quarantine' is narrower and personal — one sick or exposed person is kept apart from others for a set number of days. A 'curfew' only bans being outside during certain hours, often at night, so people can still go out the rest of the day. 'Isolation' stresses being completely cut off from contact, whether by choice or by rule. For example, a city may enter lockdown, while a single returning traveller goes into quarantine, and a town under unrest may have an evening curfew.

lockdown ↗quarantinecurfewisolation ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • lockdown order
  • lockdown measures
  • lockdown rules
  • lockdown drill

Adverbs

Phrases

  • go into lockdown
  • impose a lockdown
  • lift a lockdown
  • ease the lockdown

Prepositions

  • under lockdown
  • in lockdown
  • on lockdown

Etymology

English

Lockdown joins the everyday verb 'lock' with the direction word 'down', a pattern English often uses to mean shutting or holding something firmly in place, much like 'shutdown' or 'crackdown'. It first appeared in American English in the mid-1900s, describing the practice of confining prisoners to their cells. From prisons the word spread to schools, hospitals, and later to whole communities during health emergencies.

First known use

1973

1973, in the meaning defined at sense 1