# cease and desist

> English word · Verb

## Definitions
1. To stop and not resume an action.

## Etymology
From cease (“stop”), and desist (“to not do again”). The noun sense can be viewed synchronically as an ellipsis of cease-and-desist order.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cease-and-desist