gridlock

American  

[grid-lok] / ˈgrɪdˌlɒk /

noun

1. the stoppage of free vehicular movement in an urban area because key intersections are blocked by traffic.

2. the blocking of an intersection by vehicular traffic entering the intersection but unable to pass through it.

3. any situation in which nothing can move or proceed in any direction.

   a financial gridlock due to high interest rates.

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gridlock British  

/ ˈɡrɪdˌlɒk /

noun

1. obstruction of urban traffic caused by queues of vehicles forming across junctions and causing further queues to form in the intersecting streets

2. a point in a dispute at which no agreement can be reached; deadlock

   political gridlock

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verb

1. (tr) (of traffic) to block or obstruct (an area)

Other Word Forms

• gridlocked
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of gridlock

An Americanism dating back to 1975–80; grid + lock ¹

Explanation

Gridlock is what happens when there's so much traffic on a road or highway that it slows to a stop. If your bus gets stalled in gridlock on the way to school, you'll be late for first period. While gridlock is commonly used as a synonym for a traffic jam, strictly speaking the term is more specific. During gridlock, traffic is backed up in different directions, so that lines of cars block several intersecting streets. In the worst gridlock, vehicles in the grid of streets are unable to move forward or to back up. Drivers can avoid this kind of gridlock by waiting to enter the intersection until there's room to move all the way through it.

Example Sentences

Miller is now a full-time practitioner of Chinese medicine, navigating Manhattan’s gridlock and Brooklyn’s brownstones carrying a doctor bag of needles and laser equipment.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

Demonstrators, many organising online outside of formal representative bodies, have also used convoys on motorways to snarl traffic and tractors to gridlock central Dublin on occasions.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

“By distributing traffic amongst multiple locations rather than funneling it all into the central terminal area we can reduce gridlock, improve safety, and give passengers better options on how to get to LAX,” Reich said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026

He says the shortfall is largely attributed to the gridlock over Petronas-Petros gas distribution rights, as well as weaker crude oil and gas prices.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

The Americans created gridlock at the entrance to Maracanã Stadium, as one athlete after another bent to take selfies with me holding that giant flag.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Related Words

• bottleneck
• congestion
• impasse
• logjam