deadlock
Americannoun
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deadlocks
plural
-
a state in which progress is impossible, as in a dispute, produced by the counteraction of opposing forces; standstill; stalemate.
The union and management reached a deadlock over fringe benefits.
-
a maximum-security cell for the solitary confinement of a prisoner.
verb (used with or without object)
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deadlocks,
present (3rd person singular)
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deadlocked,
past participle, past
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deadlocking
present participle
noun
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a state of affairs in which further action between two opposing forces is impossible; stalemate
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a tie between opposite sides in a contest
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a lock having a bolt that can be opened only with a key
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deadlocksimple
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deadlockssimple
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have deadlockedperfect
-
has deadlockedperfect
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am deadlockingprogressive
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are deadlockingprogressive
-
is deadlockingprogressive
-
have been deadlockingperfect progressive
-
has been deadlockingperfect progressive
Past
-
deadlockedsimple
-
had deadlockedperfect
-
was deadlockingprogressive
-
were deadlockingprogressive
-
had been deadlockingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deadlock
Explanation
Use the noun deadlock to describe a standstill, as when two people or sides cannot move beyond a disagreement. Deadlock can also mean a game that results in an unbreakable tie or a stalemate, like when you are in a five-hour thumb-wrestling match with no winner. You can easily remember the meaning of this compound word, by thinking about its two word parts — dead + lock. The first appearance of deadlock was in The Critic, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan: “I have them all at a deadlock, for every one of them is afraid to let go first.”
Vocabulary lists containing deadlock
Never Let Me Go
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Vocabulary from Vladimir Putin's Speech on Crimea
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The Egypt Game
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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.
See Examples For:
Brentford should have been ahead before Keane Lewis-Potter broke the deadlock after 12 minutes, the contest effectively over when Vitaly Janelt doubled their lead before half-time.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
The Security Council straw poll was devised in the early 1980s in an attempt to break a deadlock between two candidates shut down by vetoes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
The five-month deadlock was on full display in recent days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
A preliminary deal aimed at ending the war has collapsed as the foes fight to break the deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway key to the world's oil supply.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
“I must point out that the move I have taken provides you with the opportunity to overcome the current deadlock, and to normalize the country’s political situation. I hope you will seize it without delay.”
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
A hung jury would result in a mistrial, meaning prosecutors would face a decision on whether to retry any officers that the jury deadlocks on.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
Maryland lost its only games against Iowa and Rutgers, so those are deadlocks to be avoided.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2023
One reason our discovery is exciting is because it hints at ways to work through specific political deadlocks.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 1, 2023
Amid the deadlocks over the U.N. role in Ukraine, broader reform ideas have gained steam, including support for increasing the number of permanent Security Council members.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 6, 2022
And while we thus perfected the Country, we were also eliminating all sorts of tediums, disputable possibilities, and deadlocks from the game.
From Little Wars; a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books. by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
A US judge on Wednesday sent jurors back for a final push toward a verdict in Lindsay Clancy's triple murder trial after they deadlocked for a second time, raising the prospect of a mistrial.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
At this writing, the jury does not appear close to a verdict in the Clancy case, and may well be deadlocked.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Criminal defence lawyer Elyse Hershon told the BBC she was not surprised to hear that the jury was deadlocked, as people had strong opinions on the case.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
U.S. stocks slid as negotiations about the future of the Strait of Hormuz remain deadlocked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
When darkness fell, the battle was already deadlocked.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Fifa needs to prevent something called deadlocking, which happens when it is no longer possible to complete the draw while following the regulations.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2025
Jurors deliberated for several days, deadlocking more than once, prompting the judge to urge them to continue deliberating to reach a unanimous verdict.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 14, 2023
It fell one vote short, deadlocking at 7 to 7.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2022
The jury wound up acquitting the men of many charges and deadlocking on the murder charge, leading to a mistrial.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 21, 2019
One day during afternoon rec, when I was deadlocking all the cells, he called me back to his.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
