# lockdown

Pronunciation: say "LOK-down" US /ˈlɑkˌdaʊn/, UK /ˈlɒkˌdaʊn/

## Noun

1. The confinement of people to their rooms, cells, homes, or surrounding areas, imposed as a security measure during a disturbance or as a public-health response in a pandemic.
   - Simple: A time when people must stay inside their homes, rooms, or buildings to keep everyone safe.
   - _The prison remained under lockdown for two days after the fight in the yard._
   - _Office workers across the city learned to work from home under the new lockdown orders._
2. A fastening device used to bind logs together when they are floated as a raft. *(US)*
   - Simple: A device used to hold logs together so they can float as a raft.
   - _The raftsmen drove the lockdown tight before pushing off into the current._
   - _Each crew carried spare lockdowns in case one split while the raft was out on the river._

## Origin

This word is formed from the verb phrase "lock down."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lockdown (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).