/ hɔːlt; NAmE ; BrE also hɒlt/ verb , noun
■ verb
to stop; to make sb/sth stop :
[ v ]
She walked towards him and then halted.
'Halt!' the Major ordered (= used as a command to soldiers) .
[ vn ]
The police were halting traffic on the parade route.
The trial was halted after the first week.
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IDIOMS
see track noun
■ noun
1.
[ sing. ] an act of stopping the movement or progress of sb/sth :
Work came to a halt when the machine broke down.
The thought brought her to an abrupt halt .
The car skidded to a halt.
Strikes have led to a halt in production.
They decided it was time to call a halt to the project (= stop it officially) .
2.
[ C ] ( BrE ) a small train station in the country that has a platform but no buildings
•
IDIOMS
see grind verb
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: originally in the phrase make halt , from German haltmachen , from halten to hold.