Word: Halt

Pronunciation

/hɔːlt/

Definitions

• Noun: A brief stop or pause, especially one made by a person, vehicle, or animal. For example: “The train came to a sudden halt at the station.”

  • Also, a place where people or vehicles stop temporarily, often a military checkpoint. “They reached a security halt before entering the city.”

• Verb:

  • To come to a complete stop, either temporarily or permanently, usually referring to movement or action. For example: “The soldiers were ordered to halt their advance.”
  • To cause something to stop or bring something to a standstill. “The traffic officer halted the cars to let pedestrians cross.”

Phrases

• “Call a halt to something” means to stop or cease an activity. For example: “We need to call a halt to this reckless spending.”
• “Halt and catch fire” is an idiomatic expression (originally from computing) meaning a system malfunction or failure that stops all operations.

Example Sentences

• Noun: “The horse came to an abrupt halt at the sound of gunfire.”
• Verb: “The teacher commanded the students to halt their chatter when she entered the classroom.”

Synonyms

• Stop
• Cease
• Pause
• Rest
• Standstill
• Stay
• Break
• Suspension (for the verb sense)
• Checkpoint (for the noun sense referring to a stopping place)