1
: a state of inaction or neutralization resulting from the opposition of equally powerful uncompromising persons or factions : standstill
the deadlock was broken with a key compromise
2
: a tie score
deadlock
verb
Examples of deadlock in a Sentence
City councilors reached a deadlock over the law.
His goal broke a 3–3 deadlock.
Recent Examples on the Web
Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing to unveil a Republican health-care bill in the coming days for a vote by the end of the month, but the move is unlikely to resolve a congressional deadlock over expiring Obamacare subsidies.
—
Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2025
Having killed Downey, Amos cuts one of his deadlocks and puts it in Axel’s little red book.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2025
The Clippers pounded Greater New Bedford keeper Benjamin Viera with shots but weren’t able to break the scoreless deadlock until the 53rd minute when Amorosino received a pass from Peter Cohane before spinning around and burying his shot into the bottom right corner for his 29th goal of the season.
—Greg Dudek, Boston Herald, 23 Nov. 2025
The Bank of England had to navigate a historic deadlock this summer after four policymakers voted to keep rates steady, four voted to cut by a quarter point, and one voted to cut by a half point.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 22 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deadlock
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2025
Having killed Downey, Amos cuts one of his deadlocks and puts it in Axel’s little red book.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2025
The Clippers pounded Greater New Bedford keeper Benjamin Viera with shots but weren’t able to break the scoreless deadlock until the 53rd minute when Amorosino received a pass from Peter Cohane before spinning around and burying his shot into the bottom right corner for his 29th goal of the season.
—Greg Dudek, Boston Herald, 23 Nov. 2025
The Bank of England had to navigate a historic deadlock this summer after four policymakers voted to keep rates steady, four voted to cut by a quarter point, and one voted to cut by a half point.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 22 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deadlock
Cite this Entry
“Deadlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadlock. Accessed 15 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
deadlock
noun
dead·lock
-ˌläk 
: a stopping of action because both sides in a struggle are equally powerful and neither will give in
deadlock
verb
Legal Definition
deadlock
noun
dead·lock
ˈded-ˌläk
: a state of inaction resulting from the opposition of equally powerful uncompromising persons or factions: as
a
: the state of a jury unable to agree on a verdict see also allen charge
b
: impasse
c
: a state in which corporate directors are unable to perform their functions because of shareholder voting
deadlock
verb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share