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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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.
See Examples For:
Regardless of the record-breaking deadline of Sept. 6, he’s adapting to a new “finish plan” and shared this truth for us all: “Together we will conquer this seemingly impossible task.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Chelsea say no Fernandez move as deadline passes - but is it really over?
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Chelsea set a deadline of Friday at 17:00 BST for offers for Manchester City target Enzo Fernandez, who they value at £120m.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
He said he became suspicious when the SPV operator only accepted wire transfers, and after one operator was willing to take his money even past its stated deadline to participate in the offer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Leaders envisioned a powerful show of unity, a massive crowd of blacks and whites together parading through the Black Belt, crossing as one over the deadline, celebrating their common bond as laborers.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
But clubs do often stick to their deadlines - as Manchester United learned in 2020.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Both parties had asked the court to move quickly ahead of printing deadlines for November ballots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Some possible answers include because you are in a low tax bracket, Roth conversions make sense, RMDs are kicking in and inherited IRA distributions have withdrawal deadlines.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
But the appeals court found the states had shown they were already facing immediate consequences from the directive, including deadlines requiring them to alter election procedures and coordinate with federal agencies before the November elections.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
These deadlines left no time for idle theorizing.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
