stop (dead) in (your) tracks

to suddenly stop moving or doing something.

When I heard the loud scream, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Usage notes: often used in the forms stop someone (dead) in their tracks or stop something (dead) in its tracks:

The memo was supposed to stop the protest in its tracks.

Related vocabulary: stop short

• see someone in hell before
• see someone in hell before doing something
• see someone in the flesh
• see someone in their true colours
• see someone in true colours
• see someone off
• see someone out
• see someone right
• see someone's true colours
• see someone through
• see someone through something
• see something for what are
• see something for what really are
• see something for what they are
• see something for what they really are
• see something through
• see stars
• see the back of
• see the back of someone
• see the back of something
• see the colour of money
• see the colour of someone's money
• see the error of its ways
• see the error of ways
• see the error of your ways