Definition
A landing in which the airplane is brought to a complete stop on the runway, as distinguished from a touch-and-go landing where the aircraft lands and immediately takes off again without stopping.
Plain English
A landing where you actually stop the airplane on the runway, instead of touching down and taking off again right away.
Context Anchor
Used in landing practice, traffic control instructions, and discussions of whether a landing ends with the airplane stopping or continuing.
Derivation
The phrase comes from printing and writing, where a period is called a full stop because it brings the sentence to a complete end. In aviation the same idea is applied to motion: the airplane must reach zero speed on the runway.
Why Pilots Care
ATC and instructors need to know whether you intend to stop or keep flying after touchdown. The runway occupancy time, traffic sequencing, and required runway length all depend on which one you do.
Intuition Check
Do not read full stop as just “slowing down a lot.” In aviation use, it means the airplane actually comes to a complete stop.
Example Sentence 1
On the radio the student requested 'the option,' but the instructor told tower they would make this one a full stop.
Example Sentence 2
Because of traffic, the tower instructed the pilot to make a full stop rather than a touch-and-go.