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:
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
Workers in the early morning of June 13 took down the president's signage after blowing past a June 12 deadline to comply with a judge's order.
—
Joey Garrison, USA Today, 13 June 2026
Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon EDT, citing the storms for delaying the work.
—Steven Sloan, Fortune, 13 June 2026
Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern time, citing the storms for delaying the work.
—Steven Sloan, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2026
Right before a deadline for the hospital to send those files, a federal judge in the Northern District of California granted a request for a temporary restraining order that applies to the whole state.
—Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for deadline
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Joey Garrison, USA Today, 13 June 2026
Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon EDT, citing the storms for delaying the work.
—Steven Sloan, Fortune, 13 June 2026
Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern time, citing the storms for delaying the work.
—Steven Sloan, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2026
Right before a deadline for the hospital to send those files, a federal judge in the Northern District of California granted a request for a temporary restraining order that applies to the whole state.
—Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for deadline
Cite this Entry
“Deadline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadline. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
deadline
noun
dead·line
ˈded-ˌlīn 
: a date or time before which something must be done
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