in one's tracks

The sinner of the first half cut in from the left wing, losing his marker to take a gentle pass from Ceri Sweeney and leave Bristol's Craig Morgan frozen in his tracks.

2006 October 28, Mike Averis, “Bristol's heavy brigade knock back potent Brew for victory”, in The Guardian

After two years on the run from the US authorities the suspected thief known as the Barefoot Bandit has finally been stopped in his tracks.

2010 July 11, Haroon Siddique, “Barefoot Bandit arrested in the Bahamas”, in The Guardian

Cyclist Anthony Robson found himself stopped in his tracks by this road sign.

2010 July 12, “Cyclist warns of road sign obstruction”, in The Guardian

Galena turned to look at them, her face alight with the glow the Sword of Lumina provided. Her expression was dangerous. It would have stopped most creatures dead in their tracks, but not the earagos. However, that could have been the fact they had poor vision.

2015, Erin Elliott, Mira's Last (young adult fantasy), page 35

As he creeps towards the main road, someone, another occupied former human, pokes their head around the corner, then calls to others in the strange language, pointing him out. Wheeler stops in his tracks. In another moment, ten or eleven non-people are advancing on him from the road. Two of them are carrying something with them, a limp, badly broken human— a normal human, Wheeler realises with some shock, like him.

2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 141