deadline

[ded-lahyn]

noun

1. the time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something.

   a five o'clock deadline.

2. a line or limit that must not be passed.

3. (formerly) a boundary around a military prison beyond which a prisoner could not venture without risk of being shot by the guards.

deadline

/ ˈdɛdˌlaɪn /

noun

1. a time limit for any activity

Other Word Forms

• postdeadline adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deadline¹

First recorded in 1855–60; dead + line ¹

Example Sentences

There was a flicker of hope for them when, just before the trade deadline, they acquired lineman Trevor Penning from the New Orleans Saints.

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It would allow complainants to take an appeal directly to the Department of Education when a district fails to meet the 60-day response deadline.

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Other concerns include a tight deadline for the roadway’s first phase.

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On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix are preparing bids for Warner Brothers Discovery ahead of a Nov. 20 deadline for first round offers.

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Above all, what one of Mr. Fox’s subjects called “a change of attitude to time” becomes necessary, with intense mental concentration supplanting deadline anxiety and rushed execution.

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Related Words

• limit 
• period 
• time limit