Used for the scheduled end of an event, performance, game, or sales period. Common in sumo (final match), concerts, and limited-time offers.
Today's performance has come to an end.
The final bout of the sumo tournament was a match between two yokozuna.
closing a pachinko machine
Specific to pachinko parlors: the machine is closed after paying out its maximum designated amount. Not used outside this context.
That machine was closed, so I moved to another one.
閉店 means closing a store for the day, whereas 打ち止め refers to the end of an event or a specific machine's operation.
Standard kanji spelling; used in news and general contexts.
Abbreviated kanji spelling; sometimes used in signs or compact text.
Variant spelling using 留める; less common but seen.
Rare variant combining abbreviated kanji and 留.
Compound of 打ち (uchi, continuative form of 打つ 'to strike, hit') and 止め (dome, continuative form of 止める 'to stop'). Originally referred to stopping a performance or game by striking a drum or gong, later generalized to any scheduled end.