lockdown.

A state or measure in which movement or access is restricted for safety, security or another emergency purpose.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• building lockdown
• impose a lockdown

On the page

The building lockdown restricted movement while the cause of the alarm was investigated.

The authorities imposed a lockdown without knowing whether the reported threat was present in every area.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror / sci-fi / gothic. Forms: Singular lockdown; plural lockdowns. Also uncountable for the state. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: hazard description, speculative setting, bodily condition, scene explanation. Disciplines: genre writing, science-informed description, clinical and safety vocabulary. Commonness: moderately common.