deadline
Americannoun
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deadlines
plural
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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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Journalism Jargon
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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:
Texans for Gregg Abbott had $67 million on hand as of the last filing deadline in mid-July, while Hinojosa had $3 million.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
There might be more clarity by Nov. 15, the deadline by which the government and the big oil producers are expected to reach definitive agreements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
The new deadline to apply for HUD funding is Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The club said it had been given a deadline of the end of this season but "being high risk it would be good to complete this side of Christmas".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
I have enclosed an application form for you to complete and return to me before the deadline marked on it.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Faculty “also describe challenges around deadlines due to students’ competing commitments, including frequent requests for extensions and difficulties communicating pro-actively when work cannot be completed on time.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
In a draft rule, the EPA argued these standards were impossible to meet and the deadlines too tight.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
It has more rules, more recordkeeping and more deadlines.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
LAX’s long-awaited Skylink train is 99% complete yet faces mounting uncertainty, as bond ratings sink into junk territory and looming 2026 deadlines raise the specter of default and termination.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
“The application deadlines for some have passed, but I’ll check when we get back to my office. You’ll also need to take the SAT. I’ve signed you up for it.”
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
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.
