standoff

A standoff is a situation in which no progress can be made or people are prevented from taking further action. Close synonyms are stalemate and deadlock.

Such a standoff often involves two or more opposing sides that refuse to budge, back down, or change their position. A political standoff is one in which both sides refuse to come to an agreement or compromise on some policy or course of action. In the context of policing, the word standoff refers to a situation in which a person refuses to be arrested but is keeping police away by threatening violence.

In movies, the tense moment when two characters are pointing weapons at each other and waiting for the other to make a move is often called a standoff.

Standoff can also refer to what happens when a game or other competition ends in a tie or without a winner being declared.

Much less commonly, standoff can be used as an adjective to mean aloof, reserved, or unfriendly, as in The hostess greeted us in a distant, standoff manner. The adjective standoffish is more commonly used to mean the same thing.

Standoff is sometimes hyphenated, as stand-off.

Example: The old enemies stared at each other in a tense standoff, both of them refusing to give an inch.

The first records of the term standoff come from the 1830s. It comes from the verb phrase stand off, which means to maintain a distance or to reach a stalemate.

The word standoff is often used in the context of tense or seemingly hopeless situations in which two opposing sides are not willing to negotiate or change their positions even a little. It’s especially used in the contexts of politics and policing.

What are some other forms related to standoff?

• stand-off (alternate, hyphenated spelling)

What are some synonyms for standoff?

• deadlock
• stalemate
• impasse
• standoffish (when standoff is used as an adjective)

What are some words that share a root or word element with standoff? 

• stand
• off

What are some words that often get used in discussing standoff?

• tense
• confrontation
• fight
• negotiation
• argument
• draw
• tie
• game
• competition

Standoff is especially used in the contexts of politics and policing.

I just found out after a 10 month standoff, my mom finally agreed to call my baby nephew by his name. She thought his name was stupid and had a one person protest to change it.

— Solomon Georgio (@solomongeorgio) October 16, 2020

I accidentally scared my niece with a roomba earlier and she has now decided to have a standoff with it for 5 mins

— Evvy 🎈🎈🎈 (@Evvobevvo) November 12, 2020

The legendary standoff that shook the multiverse! 😎 pic.twitter.com/K8vtSLrQuJ

— HololiveEnMemes (@HololiveMemes) November 27, 2020

Is standoff used correctly in the following sentence?

It was a close match, and it ended in a standoff, with neither side being able to secure victory.