halt
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Related to halt: Halt and Catch Fire
bring (someone or something) to a halt
To cause a person or thing to stop abruptly. The speeding police car, with its flashing lights and siren, brought all the other drivers to a halt. A sudden reduction in funding brought our research to a halt.
call a halt to (something)
To order the end or stoppage of something. Stop all printing—the boss has called a halt to this project!
come to a halt
To stop abruptly. Every driver came to a halt as the police car, with its flashing lights and siren, sped by. Our research came to a halt after a sudden reduction in funding.
grind to a halt
To slowly stop. Our project will grind to a halt if the CEO pulls his approval.
bring someone or something to a halt
to cause someone or something to stop immediately. The explosion brought the lecture to a halt. I brought the visitor to a halt at the front gate.
call a halt to something
to demand that something be stopped. We must call a halt to this childish behavior. The manager called a halt to all overtime.
come to a halt
to stop; to slow down and stop. Slowly, the train came to a halt. After the bus came to a halt, more people got on.
grind to a halt
Fig. to slow down and stop. Every day about noon, traffic in town grinds to a halt. The bus ground to a halt at the corner and someone got off.
call a halt
Order something stopped, as in It was getting too dark to see the ball, so the referee called a halt to the match, or They'd played the march four times, so the conductor called a halt to the rehearsal. [Late 1800s]
come to a halt
Also, come to a standstill. Stop, either permanently or temporarily. For example, The sergeant ordered the men to come to a halt, or With the strike, construction came to a standstill. Both terms employ come to in the sense of "arrive at" or "reach," a usage dating from the 10th century. Also see come to, def. 2.
grind to a halt
Also, come to a grinding halt. Gradually come to a standstill or end. For example, Once the funding stopped, the refurbishing project ground to a halt, or She's come to a grinding halt with that book she's writing. This expression alludes to a clogged engine that gradually stops or a ship that runs aground.
grind to a halt
COMMON
1. If a process or an activity grinds to a halt, it gradually becomes slower or less active until it stops. The peace process has ground to a halt.
2. If a vehicle grinds to a halt, it stops slowly and noisily. The tanks ground to a halt after a hundred yards because the fuel had run out.
3. If a country grinds to a halt, all transport in it stops so people are unable to do the things they usually do. The whole country grinds to a halt after an hour's snow.
grind to a halt (or come to a grinding halt)
move more and more slowly and then stop. 1999 Times Traffic is expected to grind to a halt throughout the West Country as up to a million sightseers make the trip.
call a ˈhalt (to something)
stop an activity: We must call a halt to people leaving work early without permission.grind to a ˈhalt/ˈstandstill
,come to a grinding ˈhalt
stop slowly: All work on the building has ground to a halt because of a shortage of materials. ♢ Every Friday night traffic comes to a grinding halt in Hammersmith.This idiom refers to the way a very large machine slowly stops working, with some of its parts grinding (= rubbing) together.