cease
- 1To stop happening or come to an end.
Like a machine that stops the moment you turn it off.
The loud music will cease at midnight.
All talking ceased when the teacher walked in.
Similarstop, end, halt, finish, discontinue
Oppositecontinue, persist, begin, start (entry)
Note
- 2To stop doing an action or activity.
Like putting down a tool and not picking it up again.
The company ceased production of the old model last year.
Please cease all unnecessary spending immediately.
Similarstop, halt, discontinue, desist, terminate
Oppositecontinue, begin, start (entry), resume
Note
- 3To die, or to run out and no longer exist.
The poor shall never cease out of the land.
1611, The Holy Bible, King James VersionHere, cease means die out or disappear, so poor people will always exist.’Twere best at once to sink to peace, Like birds the charming serpent draws, To drop head-foremost in the jaws Of vacant darkness and to cease.
1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In MemoriamHere, cease means to die or stop existing.Similarlack
Note
Less common meaning
- 4A stop or an end to something.
Like a clock that never stops ticking.
The machines worked without cease all night long.
the cease of majesty
c. 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”Here, cease means the end or stopping of something, such as a king's rule.Note
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Origin
It comes from an old French word cesser, meaning 'to cease', which came from Latin cessō, 'leave off'.