deadline
Americannoun
-
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
- postdeadline adjective
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.
But missing the deadline this year isn’t a crisis for the USMCA, and if the U.S. withdraws from the agreement, it will lose duty-free access to its two largest markets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
"Indian refiners will likely move quickly to lock in the additional barrels the extension unlocks before the May 16 deadline."
From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026
Purdue and its attorneys moved to formally eliminate most of the 80,000 individuals who missed the deadline from any payout under this settlement plan, and the judge approved the expungement motion Tuesday.
From Salon • Apr. 24, 2026
With the World Cup scheduled to open in Mexico City on June 11, that deadline is less than three weeks away.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
“Candice, you are more important than any deadline in the world.”
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
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.
