deadline
Americannoun
-
deadlines
plural
-
the time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something.
a five o'clock deadline.
-
a line or limit that must not be passed.
-
(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"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Employment, List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Journalism Jargon
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Kris Harrington, a lecturer at Kent State University in Ohio, told MarketWatch that the outage prevented her and others from submitting their dissertations on Thursday, ahead of a Friday deadline.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 13, 2026
The contracts fixed that deadline long before the committee considered the legislation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
The Chargers’ only move at the NFL trade deadline has been called off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026
But Daryna also faces the added strain of a deadline she can't even be certain of.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
The only thing Doreen ever bawled me out about was bothering to get my assignments in by a deadline.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
Alaska's vast distances, remote communities and mail-ballot deadlines mean counting takes longer.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
What to know about deadlines, options and more.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
Some of those rules include governing campaign contribution limits, filing deadlines, public disclosures and fundraising windows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
Instead, LUPE’s workers and volunteers now focus on letting people know key deadlines are coming up.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
The truth, of course, was that any warnings he may have issued about the dangers of the lab’s physical environment were drowned out by his endless demands and tight deadlines for improvements to the machine.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
