come to a grinding halt

idiom

of a machine
: to stop working or moving forward
The machinery came to a grinding halt.
often used figuratively
The project came to a grinding halt.

Examples of come to a grinding halt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The central bank is also tightening monetary policy sharply, with key rates also at decades-high levels and growth having come to a grinding halt. Reuters, CNN, 26 Jan. 2023 Life doesn’t often come to a grinding halt. Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 10 July 2022 Economic activity has come to a grinding halt in Sri Lanka, and citizens continue to endure hours-long daily power outages, as the country struggles to buy fuel. Anusha Ondaatjie, BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2022 Wisconsin saw rapid growth in state spending on grants, loans and scholarships to undergraduate students between 2000 and 2011, but that has since come to a grinding halt and ultimately declined by half a percentage point in the decade since. Devi Shastri, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2022 As Kat considers breaking up with Ethan again, her story line has come to a grinding halt in comparison to her expansive arc last season. Iana Murray, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2022 Lockwood’s debut follows a social media star whose absurdist travails online come to a grinding halt when a gutting tragedy hits IRL. Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2021 Likewise, post-production nationwide would come to a grinding halt without the 8,600 editors represented by Local 700. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 21 Sep. 2021 That is a clear signal that the construction of pipelines could come to a grinding halt during the Biden administration. Scott Waldman, Scientific American, 28 Jan. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come to a grinding halt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near come to a grinding halt

Cite this Entry

“Come to a grinding halt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20to%20a%20grinding%20halt. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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