deadline

noun

dead·​line ˈded-ˌlīn 

1

: a line drawn within or around a prison that a prisoner passes at the risk of being shot

2

a

: a date or time before which something must be done

b

: the time after which copy is not accepted for a particular issue of a publication

see also:

on deadline

Examples of deadline in a Sentence

She worked on her composition right up until the deadline.

We had to hurry to meet the deadline.

The project was completed a week past its deadline.

The deadline for submitting college applications is April 19th.

They're working under a deadline.

Recent Examples on the Web

But Cukor, who hit his thirty-year up-or-out deadline without getting a star, had long since been removed to lucrative work in the private sector. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2026

The deadline to apply for the program is June 5, but participants are being accepted on a rolling basis. —Lauren Linder, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026

Submissions for the 39th edition are open now via the festival’s official website, through the July 7 deadline. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Apr. 2026

Amazon has been working to ramp up its network by deploying about 3,200 satellites in Earth’s ​low orbit by 2029, with roughly half required to be in place by a ​July 2026 regulatory deadline. —Reuters, NBC news, 14 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1864, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing deadline

• on deadline
• under deadline

Rhymes for deadline

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine

Kids Definition

deadline

noun

dead·​line ˈded-ˌlīn 

: a date or time before which something must be done