lockdown
/ˈlɑkˌdaʊn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.52 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The confinement of people in their own rooms (e.g., in a school) or cells (in a prison), or to their own homes or areas (e.g., in the case of a city- or nation-wide issue) as a security measure after or amid a disturbance or as a non-pharmaceutical intervention in a pandemic.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "At the time of writing, no decisions had been made by the Government as to when or how lockdown restrictions might begin to be lifted. However, discussions were taking place in the industry about how social distancing could be maintained on the railway if some patronage were to return soon."
- "Fans relished the traditional FA Cup fanfare from the Coldstream Guards and the hymn Abide With Me before throwing themselves wholeheartedly into an experience they have been largely deprived of since the first coronavirus lockdown began in March 2020."
- "When a column of smoke appeared on Thursday over the Sitong Bridge overpass in the Haidian district of Beijing, it drew attention to a protester who had hung banners openly bashing China’s top leader by name and criticizing the country’s “zero Covid” policy, including one calling for “freedom and not lockdowns.”"
- "The rafts were made up of strings of logs about seventeen feet wide, held together by poles across them. Each log was pinned to the poles by wooden pegs and lockdowns."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlɑkˌdaʊn/
- British English: /ˈlɒkˌdaʊn/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- American usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
anti-lockdown
end lockdown
lift lockdown
lockdown browser
locky D
pro-lockdown
shelter-in-place
stay-at-home order