deadlock

American  

[ded-lok] / ˈdɛdˌlɒk /

noun

1. a state in which progress is impossible, as in a dispute, produced by the counteraction of opposing forces; standstill; stalemate.

   The union and management reached a deadlock over fringe benefits.

   Synonyms:

   draw, impasse, standoff

2. deadbolt.

3. a maximum-security cell for the solitary confinement of a prisoner.

---

verb (used with or without object)

1. to bring or come to a deadlock.

deadlock British  

/ ˈdɛdˌlɒk /

noun

1. a state of affairs in which further action between two opposing forces is impossible; stalemate

2. a tie between opposite sides in a contest

3. a lock having a bolt that can be opened only with a key

---

verb

1. to bring or come to a deadlock

Other Word Forms

• undeadlocked
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of deadlock

First recorded in 1770–80; dead + lock ¹

Explanation

Use the noun deadlock to describe a standstill, as when two people or sides cannot move beyond a disagreement. Deadlock can also mean a game that results in an unbreakable tie or a stalemate, like when you are in a five-hour thumb-wrestling match with no winner. You can easily remember the meaning of this compound word, by thinking about its two word parts — dead + lock. The first appearance of deadlock was in The Critic, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan: “I have them all at a deadlock, for every one of them is afraid to let go first.”

Example Sentences

Deadlock between government and parliament in Kuwait, which bans political parties, has often led to cabinet reshuffles and dissolutions of the legislature over the decades, hampering investment and reforms.

From Reuters • Jul. 24, 2022

Most came and went quietly, including titles like "Cosmic Sin," "Out of Death" and "Deadlock."

From Fox News • Mar. 30, 2022

Deadlock Director and co-writer Jared Cohn’s 2021 action thriller stars Bruce Willis as a criminal leading a group of anti-government mercenaries who seize control of a nuclear power plant.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2022

Set in Devon, the story follows Tarka, one of a litter of three otter cubs, from his birth through the years and seasons to his final, fatal encounter with his long-standing enemy, Deadlock, an “otter-hound.”

From Washington Post • Dec. 14, 2020

The three essays grouped together under the title The Deadlock in Darwinism may be regarded as a postscript to Butler’s four books on evolution, viz.

From The Humour of Homer and Other Essays by Streatfeild, R. A. (Richard Alexander)

Related Words

• dilemma
• gridlock
• plight
• predicament
• standoff
• standstill