Meaning & use
a lockdown
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A situation in which people must stay where they are because of danger, and are not allowed to leave or move freely.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a lockdown, the lockdown, or lockdowns; the article "a" introduces one instance of it.
Patterns
- a lockdown on something
- go into lockdown
- impose a lockdown
- lift a lockdown
The city was put under a lockdown after the storm flooded the roads.
Residents described a tense lockdown that lasted three days.
The school called a lockdown when a stranger entered the building.
nouncountable
A period when an activity, business, or service is officially stopped or severely restricted.
Grammar: Often used with verbs like impose, order, ease, or end when talking about official action.
Patterns
- impose a lockdown on something
- a lockdown of something
- ease a lockdown
The government announced a lockdown of all non-essential shops.
A brief lockdown on travel was lifted before the holiday.
Farmers faced a lockdown of the region after the disease spread.
nouncountable
A security measure in which people are kept inside a building or area while a threat is checked.
Grammar: Common in news and school contexts; the phrase "go into lockdown" is a fixed expression.
Patterns
- go into lockdown
- under lockdown
- a lockdown drill
The prison went into lockdown after a fight broke out.
Students practiced a lockdown drill in case of an emergency.
The hospital remained under lockdown for several hours.
Word forms
| plural | lockdowns |
|---|
Common combinations
- go into lockdown
- The whole neighborhood went into lockdown at midnight.
- impose a lockdown
- Officials imposed a lockdown to slow the infection.
- lift a lockdown
- They lifted the lockdown once the danger had passed.
- under lockdown
- The base stayed under lockdown for two days.
- a lockdown drill
- Teachers ran a lockdown drill with the younger classes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- confinement
- More formal and usually about being kept in a small space, not about an official public order.
- quarantine
- Specifically about separating people who may carry a disease; a lockdown can have other reasons, such as safety or security.
- curfew
- A curfew only forbids being outside during certain hours, while a lockdown keeps people inside entirely.
Opposites
Word family
- lock down phrasal verb
- To secure a place or restrict movement, as in "They locked down the campus."
- locked down adjective
- Describing a place that is under such restrictions, as in "a locked-down city."
Commonly confused: a lockdown or lockout? a lockdown or shutdown?
a lockdown vs lockout
A lockout keeps workers out of a workplace during a dispute; a lockdown keeps people inside for safety or security reasons.
a lockdown vs shutdown
A shutdown means an activity or machine stops completely, often permanently or for a set time; a lockdown is about restricting movement.
Practice
Which sentence uses "a lockdown" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Go into lockdown" is a fixed phrase without an article, so option 2 is correct. Option 1 adds "a" where the idiom does not take one, and options 3 and 4 use the plural, which cannot follow "into" in this phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a lockdown”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.