deadline
Americannoun
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the time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something.
a five o'clock deadline.
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a line or limit that must not be passed.
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(formerly) a boundary around a military prison beyond which a prisoner could not venture without risk of being shot by the guards.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of deadline
Explanation
A deadline is a date or time when something must be finished. At work and school, most projects have deadlines. If you don’t get your paper in by the deadline, you won’t get a good grade. If you think missing a deadline and getting a low grade is bad, think about how this word came to be: It was a line that went around a prison and if a prisoner crossed it, he could be shot. Now that’s a deadline! A deadline sounds scary, and it does frighten a lot of people — if you don't get a paper in by the deadline, you could lose points or fail. But hey, you’ll live.
Vocabulary lists containing deadline
"LAFFF"
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Employment, List 1
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for April 15–April 21, 2023
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But Deadline reports that cameras are already rolling.
From Salon • May 18, 2026
Where the show has shone brightest has been on social media, with analysis by Deadline showing that SNL UK content received 86m views across its official accounts in its first month.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
A Lufthansa agent had offered to walk Talankin to the gate and keep hold of his statuette during the flight, but this plan was vetoed by a TSA official, according to Deadline.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
Based on ticket presales, Disney is projecting an opening weekend box office of $66 million, Deadline reported.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026
If they had sold out to the enemy, they had given him nothing in return for his wages except perhaps a promise to be fulfilled on a Deadline Day.
From Check and Checkmate by Miller, Walter M.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
