1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
b
: deadlock
2
: an impassable road or way : cul-de-sac
Examples of impasse in a Sentence
The players are poised to strike after Thursday's games because they believe, with good reason, that if no agreement is reached by the end of the post-season, the owners will declare an impasse …
—
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Recent Examples on the Web
The impasse over government funding doesn’t extend to must-pass defense legislation, which the Senate passed last night.
—Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will close to the public starting Sunday if the federal government shutdown continues, another visible sign of how the budget impasse in Congress is beginning to ripple across everyday life.
—Nik Popli, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
But some quiet absences among air traffic controllers and the resulting travel disturbances could ultimately help end the impasse, some experts told ABC News.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2025
The government is still shut down Lawmakers are under increasing pressure to reach a deal as the real-world effects of the government shutdown are felt, particularly by federal workers who are furloughed or required to work without pay during the budget impasse.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
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.
Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will close to the public starting Sunday if the federal government shutdown continues, another visible sign of how the budget impasse in Congress is beginning to ripple across everyday life.
—Nik Popli, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
But some quiet absences among air traffic controllers and the resulting travel disturbances could ultimately help end the impasse, some experts told ABC News.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2025
The government is still shut down Lawmakers are under increasing pressure to reach a deal as the real-world effects of the government shutdown are felt, particularly by federal workers who are furloughed or required to work without pay during the budget impasse.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
impasse
noun
im·passe
ˈim-ˌpas, im-ˈpas 
: a point in especially labor negotiations at which reaching an agreement is impossible because neither party is willing to compromise or change position
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share