Mexican standoff

noun

: a situation in which no one emerges a clear winner

also : deadlock

Synonyms of Mexican standoff

• halt

Examples of Mexican standoff in a Sentence

in the battle over bedtime the parents and their son are at a Mexican standoff

Recent Examples on the Web

The top echelon of Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon has dissolved into a circle of mutual recrimination and enmity worthy of a Mexican standoff from a Quentin Tarantino film. — The Editors, National Review, 28 Apr. 2025

Ahmet Şık, a former journalist and an opposition MP, likened the situation to a Mexican standoff, a confrontation in which no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory. — Guney Yildiz, Forbes, 24 May 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Mexican standoff

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff