食い止める

• 読み: くいとめる
• ローマ字: kuitomeru
• 漢字の分解: 食 (shoku/ku) — bite, hold; 止 (shi) — stop, halt, prevent
• 発音: /kɯ.i.to.me.ɾɯ/

意味

To check; to curb; to hold back; to halt the advance or spread of something; to prevent a negative phenomenon from progressing further.

A Group 2 (ichidan) verb vividly evoking the image of clenching something in one's teeth to stop it from moving forward. Used to describe stopping the spread of disease, fire, a military advance, economic decline, or any undesirable progression. Often appears with institutional subjects such as officials, firefighters, or policy measures. Conveys effortful, active prevention rather than passive avoidance. A close synonym is 阻止する, which is more formal and bureaucratic.

例文

1. 消防隊員が決死の放水活動で、延焼を何とか食い止めた。
2. 早期の隔離措置が感染症の急速な拡大を食い止めることに貢献した。
3. 急激な円安の進行を食い止めるべく、中央銀行が市場介入に踏み切った。

使い方ガイド

場面: public health, firefighting, economics, politics, crisis management

トーン: serious

起源と歴史

Compound of 食い (from 食う — to bite, to hold with the teeth) and 止める (to stop, to halt). The image is of grabbing something firmly in one's teeth to prevent it from advancing further.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: All classes