gridlock

[ grid-lok ]

noun

1. the stoppage of free vehicular movement in an urban area because key intersections are blocked by traffic.
2. the blocking of an intersection by vehicular traffic entering the intersection but unable to pass through it.
3. any situation in which nothing can move or proceed in any direction:

   a financial gridlock due to high interest rates.

gridlock

/ ˈɡrɪdˌlɒk /

noun

1. obstruction of urban traffic caused by queues of vehicles forming across junctions and causing further queues to form in the intersecting streets
2. a point in a dispute at which no agreement can be reached; deadlock

   political gridlock

verb

1. tr (of traffic) to block or obstruct (an area)

Other Words From

• gridlocked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gridlock¹

An Americanism dating back to 1975–80; grid + lock ¹

Example Sentences

It’s very easy to see the Senate descending into one of its most gridlocked periods in an era already marked by gridlock.

From Washington Post

Hendricks says removing this provision, which essentially lets one party veto measures it doesn’t like, would be helpful in eliminating some of the gridlock.

From Popular-Science

On Wednesday, the 10-year Treasury moved above 1 percent for the first time since March, as the outcome of the Georgia Senate race seemed to indicate the possibility of less gridlock, making another stimulus a more realistic possibility.

From Washington Post

On Wednesday, congressional leaders neared an agreement on a roughly $900 billion relief package after months of partisan gridlock.

From Washington Post

To be sure, Wall Street’s pundits and market strategists, along with plenty of journalists and even some top academics, are touting divided government gridlock as great news for the markets.

From Fortune

So is partisan gridlock just a symptom of how we raise our kids?

From The Daily Beast

Most of all, Orman reflects a bubbling Main Street frustration with hyper-partisan gridlock.

From The Daily Beast

Such admiration for the American system sounds strange in this era of gridlock and bickering.

From The Daily Beast

Yes, gridlock frustration and national debt nausea are understandable.

From The Daily Beast

So today, gridlock in Washington simply mirrors who we are and where America is.

From The Daily Beast

Then our nation was gripped by economic distress, social decline, political gridlock.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bottleneck
• congestion
• impasse
• logjam