SKIP TO CONTENT

lockdown

/ˈlɑkˌdaʊn/
/ˈlɒkdaʊn/
IPA guide

Other forms: lockdowns

A lockdown is when people are restricted to a specific area for safety reasons. When incarcerated people are put on lockdown, they're usually confined inside their cells.

Prisons and jails use lockdowns to ensure that inmates and guards are safe, and schools use them the same way, as a response to a threat of danger. During a building lockdown, no one is permitted to enter or leave. Public health lockdowns are a variation on this; the perceived threat isn't violence, but a contagious disease, and staying home reduces the rate of spread. Lockdown originated from the prison meaning and its literal locked cells.

Definitions of lockdown
  1. noun
    the act of confining prisoners to their cells (usually to regain control during a riot)
    see moresee less
    type of:
    imprisonment, internment
    the act of confining someone in a prison (or as if in a prison)
  2. noun
    the act of restricting people to a certain area, especially for safety
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘lockdown'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family