终止
zhōngzhǐ · HSK 5
stop
🛑 终 = end + 止 = stop; end-stop = terminate
终 means 'end/final' (think 终点 endpoint) and 止 means 'halt/stop' (think 停止). Stacking 'end' onto 'stop' intensifies the meaning into 'terminate' or 'cease completely' — a hard, formal stop rather than a casual pause.
止 — pictograph of a foot/toe
止 originally depicted a human foot with toes, shown as a footprint on the ground. From this concrete image of a foot it came to mean 'to stop' or 'halt' — the place where a step ends. It also serves as a component in many characters relating to feet, walking, or stopping, such as 步 and 正.