grind to a halt
idiom
of a machine
: to stop working or moving forward
The machinery slowly ground to a halt.
—often used figurativelyWithout more money, work on the project will soon grind to a halt.
Examples of grind to a halt in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The pandemic illustrated what happens when the country’s food system grinds to a halt.
—
Bennet Goldstein, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
But as written, and as played by Thorne, Riri is so dour, and so flat, that Ironheart all but grinds to a halt whenever a scene is primarily about the series’ protagonist.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2025
Since then, the flow of aid has been inconsistent, grinding to a halt under Israel's blockade.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 18 June 2025
Newark Liberty International Airport has been melting down, an air traffic controller facility in Colorado had a communication outage, and Atlanta’s airport also ground to a halt last week.
—Jackie Snow, Quartz, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for grind to a halt
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Bennet Goldstein, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
But as written, and as played by Thorne, Riri is so dour, and so flat, that Ironheart all but grinds to a halt whenever a scene is primarily about the series’ protagonist.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2025
Since then, the flow of aid has been inconsistent, grinding to a halt under Israel's blockade.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 18 June 2025
Newark Liberty International Airport has been melting down, an air traffic controller facility in Colorado had a communication outage, and Atlanta’s airport also ground to a halt last week.
—Jackie Snow, Quartz, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for grind to a halt
Cite this Entry
“Grind to a halt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grind%20to%20a%20halt. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share