halt
n. countablen. a sudden stop in an activity or movement. You use this word when something stops completely and often quickly.
n. a temporary or permanent cessation of movement or activity. Often used in the phrase 'bring to a halt' or 'come to a halt'.
The car came to a sudden halt at the red light.
Production at the factory came to a grinding halt after the main power generator failed.
The peace negotiations were brought to a sudden halt when both parties failed to agree on the terms of the ceasefire.
From Middle English halten, from Old English healtian (“to be lame, walk with a limp”), from Proto-West Germanic haltōn, related to halt. English usage in the sense of 'make a halt' is from the noun. Cognate with North Frisian halte, Swedish halta.
From Middle French halt, from early modern German halt (“stop!”), imperative of halten (“to hold, to stop”). Doublet of hold (see that entry for more information).
From Middle English halt, from Old English healt, from Proto-West Germanic halt, from Proto-Germanic haltaz (“halt, lame”), from Proto-Indo-European kol-d-, from Proto-Indo-European kel- (“to beat, strike, cut, slash”). Cognate with Danish halt, Swedish halt.
Borrowed from French halte.
Commonly used with the verbs 'bring' or 'come' followed by the preposition 'to'.