curfew
n. countablen. a rule that says you must stay inside your home after a certain time at night. It is often used by parents for their children or by governments during emergencies.
n. a regulation requiring people to remain indoors between specified hours, typically at night. Often imposed by authorities during civil unrest or as a parental restriction on minors.
My parents set a midnight curfew for me on weekends.
The city government lifted the emergency curfew after three nights of peaceful protests and stable conditions.
While the military command enforced a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew to maintain order, local residents found ways to communicate through shared balconies and windows.
From Middle English curfu, from Old French cuevre-fu (French couvre-feu), from the imperative of covrir (“to cover”) + fu (“fire”). Compare kerchief.
Often used with the verbs 'set', 'impose', 'break', or 'lift'.