Lockdown

How to spell lockdown

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce lockdown

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does lockdown mean?

1. nounA security or safety measure in which people are confined and movement in or out of an area is restricted.

Lockdown in a sentence

• The prison went into lockdown after the disturbance in the exercise yard.

• During the lockdown many employees worked from home for months.

Where does lockdown come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent compound built from two very old native English words. 'Lock' descends from the Old English 'loc', meaning a bolt, bar, or fastening used to secure a door, while 'down' comes from the Old English 'dune', meaning toward a lower place and, by extension, into a state of being shut or held fast. The combination 'lockdown' is much younger than its parts; it surfaced in mid twentieth century American English to describe the confining of prisoners to their cells, often after a disturbance. From that prison setting the meaning broadened to cover any imposed restriction of movement, such as a school sealing its doors during a threat. The word reached its widest everyday use during the public health restrictions of the early 2020s, when whole populations were placed under lockdown.

How the word is built

• lock (to fasten or secure)
• down (adverb of restriction or shutting)