standstill
n.a situation where all movement or activity stops completely. You use this when traffic, work, or a process cannot continue.
n.a state in which all motion or progress has ceased. Often follows the verbs 'bring' or 'come' to describe the cessation of a process or physical movement.
“The heavy snow brought traffic to a complete standstill.”
“Negotiations between the two companies came to a standstill after they failed to agree on the final price.”
“The sudden failure of the central server brought the entire production line to a standstill, leaving hundreds of workers idle while technicians scrambled to restore power.”
Commonly used in the singular with the prepositions 'to' or 'at', specifically in the phrases 'come to a standstill' or 'at a standstill'.
From stand + still, a deverbal from stand still. Compare Dutch stilstand (“standstill”), German Stillstand (“standstill”), Danish stilstand (“standstill”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.