Standstill Meaning
/ˈstændˌstɪl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounComplete immobility; a halt.
nounA complete immobility; a halt.
Sentence Examples
All the traffic was brought to a standstill by the accident.
A new car came to a standstill in front of the bank.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The factory's entire production line came to a complete ____ after the major power outage.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Traffic came to a complete ____ on the highway after a large truck broke down in the middle lane.
Word Origin & History
From stand + still, a deverbal from stand still. Compare Dutch stilstand (“a standstill”), German Stillstand (“a standstill”), Danish stilstand (“a standstill”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Despite all these precautions, however, severe storms sometimes caused drifts which brought traffic completely to a standstill."
— 1955 December, H. A. Vallance, “The Highland Centenary—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 859:
"[...] 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, [...]."
— 1960 March, “Motive Power Miscellany: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 184:
"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."
— 2012, James C. Spohrer, Louis E. Freund, Advances in the Human Side of Service Engineering:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The factory's entire production line came to a complete ____ after the major power outage.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Traffic came to a complete ____ on the highway after a large truck broke down in the middle lane.