logjam
Americannoun
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an immovable pileup or tangle of logs, as in a river, causing a blockage.
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any blockage or massive accumulation.
a logjam of bills before Congress.
Etymology
Origin of logjam
Explanation
A logjam is just what it sounds like: a bunch of logs all jammed together, blocking the flow of water in a river or stream. You can also call other kinds of blockages logjams — like a traffic logjam that develops due to rubbernecking drivers trying to check out a crash. Logjams change the way water flows in a river, sometimes creating new channels and pools from the overflow of water. This can be good for spawning fish, but sometimes a logjam causes flooding and other problems. This has given rise to the figurative logjam, a problem that stops or blocks progress: "The disagreement caused a logjam in Congress until the President stepped in."
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.
Haas said Thursday that Fermi is in a position to take advantage of the logjam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Passing the bill would also start to relieve a logjam of legislation that Congress is seeking to dispose of before its August recess and the November midterm elections.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
Of course, there’s a big difference between being at a logjam atop the leaderboard on Friday and lifting the Harton S. Semple Trophy on Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
The need to clear that nearly 33,000-investment logjam presents an immense task that stretches firms thin and weighs on fundraising, bankers and consultants say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Rather wud I have perished in a logjam thin to've indured this ingratichood.
From Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War by Finley Peter Dunne
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
