deadlock
Americannoun
-
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.
-
a maximum-security cell for the solitary confinement of a prisoner.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a state of affairs in which further action between two opposing forces is impossible; stalemate
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a tie between opposite sides in a contest
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a lock having a bolt that can be opened only with a key
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deadlocksimple
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deadlockssimple
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have deadlockedperfect
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has deadlockedperfect
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am deadlockingprogressive
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are deadlockingprogressive
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is deadlockingprogressive
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have been deadlockingperfect progressive
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has been deadlockingperfect progressive
Past
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deadlockedsimple
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had deadlockedperfect
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was deadlockingprogressive
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were deadlockingprogressive
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had been deadlockingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deadlock
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.”
Vocabulary lists containing deadlock
Never Let Me Go
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Vocabulary from Vladimir Putin's Speech on Crimea
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The Egypt Game
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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.
The deadlock has heavily disrupted traffic in the waterway.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
While Pastef's majority in the National Assembly can censure the government, in the event of a deadlock the president can resort to "exceptional powers" to govern by decree for three months, noted Diallo.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
It worked for the most part and Guardiola's side were in need of some inspiration to try to break the deadlock.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
He added he was hopeful that China would help find a resolution to the deadlock in the Strait, saying that the free movement of ships was in its economic interest.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
Mark Antony had to do something to break the deadlock.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
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.
