work stoppage

noun

: concerted cessation of work by a group of employees usually more spontaneous and less serious than a strike

Examples of work stoppage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An unplanned work stoppage by employees at the Louvre in Paris caused the museum to close for several hours on the morning of June 16, as throngs of ticketed visitors waited outside in the blazing sun. —News Desk, Artforum, 17 June 2025

The New Jersey Transit work stoppage is expected to affect some 100,000 daily rail commuters who are being urged to work from home, drive or take the bus. —Jade Walker, CNN Money, 16 May 2025

Reese and Napheesa Collier are among those who have recently raised a work stoppage as a possibility. —Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 15 May 2025

The last time Major League Baseball and the players association negotiated a collective bargaining agreement, the owners locked out the players before the 2022 season, a work stoppage that nearly resulted in the loss of regular-season games for the first time since 1995. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

work stoppage

noun

: a cessation of work by employees as a job action

Note: Work stoppage is often used to refer to a cessation of work that is less serious and more spontaneous than one referred to as a strike. As used in the Labor Management Relations Act strike refers to “any…concerted stoppage of work by employees…and any concerted slowdown or other concerted interruption of operations by employees.”