stoppage

Stoppage is the act or instance of stopping—an abrupt or planned cessation of movement, action, or operation. It can be temporary or permanent and may result from mechanical failure, safety concerns, external instruction, or deliberate scheduling.

In industrial and service contexts, stoppage refers to downtime in production or service delivery. Planned stoppages are scheduled for maintenance, upgrades, or inspections, while unplanned stoppages arise from accidents, faults, material shortages, or other disruptions. Stoppage can affect efficiency, inventory, and costs, and is often managed through maintenance planning and business continuity measures.

In transportation and logistics, stoppages interrupt travel or supply chains, such as traffic halts, terminal holds, or port delays. In manufacturing, bottlenecks or resource constraints can cause stoppages that ripple through operations.

In sports, stoppage of play is a pause in action declared by officials for reasons such as fouls, injuries, or weather. Some games add stoppage time to compensate for delays.

In labor and law, a work stoppage refers to a collective action that halts work, commonly known as a strike, or to an official order suspending a process.

In other uses, stoppage can describe any temporary interruption in a system, such as a computer process halting due to an error, after which it is resumed or restarted.