standstill

From stand +‎ still. Compare Dutch stilstand (“standstill”), German Stillstand (“standstill”), Danish stilstand (“standstill”).

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈstændˌstɪl/
• (æ-tensing, US, Canada) IPA^(key): [ˈstɛəndˌstɪɫ]

  • Audio (Austin, Texas):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪl

standstill (countable and uncountable, plural standstills)

1. Complete immobility; a halt.

   The wreck brought traffic to a standstill for hours.

   • 1955 December, H. A. Vallance, “The Highland Centenary—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 859:

     Despite all these precautions, however, severe storms sometimes caused drifts which brought traffic completely to a standstill.

   • 1960 March, “Motive Power Miscellany: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 184:

     [...] but in the damp conditions prevailing the driver sensibly was unwilling to attempt the climb up through Combe Down tunnel without help, for fear of slipping to a standstill in the unventilated bore, [...].

   • 2012, James C. Spohrer, Louis E. Freund, Advances in the Human Side of Service Engineering‎^[1]:

     For the caller the advantage relies on a fast solution of his service request, leading to less standstill and non-productive periods for the service customer.

• motion
• movement

• standstill agreement

• stillstand